Wednesday, December 29, 2010

I see my future and it looks daunting!

Christmas came and went and Garrett was amazingly well behaved and flexible with the schedule changes, people, and parties.  The very next day it was like a whole different child awoke, demanding to watch "Peep" or "Bears" or "Whales" and screaming when the answer was no and not able to be distracted by books.  I don't think we've read 3 books since Christmas!  That's just crazy!  Have I spoiled him with the few DVD's I've decided to let him watch from time to time?  They are just music and animal footage.  And then there's "Peep" which has captivated him and seems worthwhile, but really I'd rather not be watching TV at all.  I gave in a while back when I just needed to get the dishes done without having my pant legs tugged at every 2 minutes.  Now he asks for these videos several times a day.  The new rule is 1 a day, so I have to tell him no a lot!  I thought maybe he was just tired out after all the late nights, but even 4 days out we're still having some issues with fits of screaming and crying when he doesn't get what he wants and its very hard to distract him with the usual favorites like coloring and books.  Today, just before 10 am we had already eaten breakfast, watched "Peep", colored, played with play dough, and finger painted and every time an activity ended there was screaming involved!  It is taking some serious energy to entertain Garrett right now.  I think I'm going to have to get some tricks up my sleeve, maybe some crafty stuff, and polish up on my delivering of consequences with empathy.  Wish me luck, write in with ideas for fun indoor activities to keep Garrett entertained, and check back to see how things are going.

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