Authentically Nita

ME: You're NOT behaving and you told me that you would be good & follow directions. HER: I told you that, but I am trying. ME: I don't want to hear that you're trying! Go to bed right NOW! HER: I said I was trying to follow directions mom. I'm trying my best. That's all I can do mom, is try my best. ME: *Blank stare* .....GO TO BED!!! What is the deal with small children and bedtime? Even after a very busy day, when you know they should be tired, they just don't like bedtime.

My mom seems to think Benadryl is the solution for everything. I hear things from her all the time like, "Her skin was itching so I gave her Benadryl." "He had a bump, it looked bad so I gave him some Benadryl." "Yeah, your daughter ate some crabs and her throat was itching, so I thought it might be an allergic reaction and I gave her Benadryl." "He fell of his bike and the scar had dirt on it so I gave him Benadryl, just in case he was allergic to the dust or something like it." Today she called me and said, "The kids are saying they're itching all over, I'm going to go buy some more Benadryl. It might be an allergic reaction to the detergent or something." I had to flat out tell her,"Don't give my kids anymore Benadryl!" She is driving me crazy with this. I don't know if they like how Benadryl tastes or what. What I do know, is that all of them were not having itchy skin at the same time and if they were, it ...

It's not always easy to help children with their homework. Especially, their reading. I was having some problems helping my 7 year old daughter with reading. She is under the age appropriate reading level, and just hasn't been able to grasp the phonics as well as her siblings do. I was getting very, very frustrated. Then, my closest friend, whom I've known for a good 10 years, told me about a method called, 'The Sandwich Approach." The Sandwich Approach is when you take a negative response and surround it with two positives. I'm telling you, this method works! Apparently, it's also very popular and I seem to be the last parent alive to hear about it. I've always given my children praises when they get an answer right or whenever they do well. I think what makes this method successful is that you don't just end positive, but you start off positive. Starting positive seems to give the child some confidence and makes them feel more comfortable with to...