Boo, Frogs, and Discipline

So, I've sort of come to the conclusion that my 1YO is very much like 'Boo' from Monsters Inc. She has the hair color and walks around speaking her own language, much like Boo. In fact, I'm pretty sure a room full of monsters wouldn't scare 1YO either.

If David's meanest, loudest, 'angry daddy' voice doesn't scare her, I'm pretty sure nothing will!

Unless, of course, it's a frog.

We must have thousands of frogs around our house this time of year. As the sun sets, I can look across the backyard and see at least fifty in a matter of minutes.

Lots. Of. Frogs.

When 1YO sees a frog, she goes into complete 'panic mode' and just stands there and screams until the frog either hops away or somebody rescues her. This kid lives in the wrong place to be afraid of something like frogs!

But, have mommy or daddy raise their voice at her and/or give her a little swat on the back of the hand and...

NOTHING.

If anything, she laughs at our attempts to intimidate her. And don't tell me that you shouldn't intimidate your kids. Somedays, it's all we have. I've seen my share of kids raised in those 'totally positive' environments. They are usually the same kids I don't like to have around. Most people just refer to them as 'brats.'

Our parents were raised in a time where you not only spanked your own kid, but the neighbor's kid if it deemed fit. Kids behaved better knowing that there were consequences everywhere. One might say that it really does 'take a villiage.'

I've hardly ever had to discipline my two older kids. A stern look was pretty much all it took with the first one. The second one responds very well to time-outs. However, this third one is starting to get me really flustered. At the ripe old age of 18 months, the only thing we've ever tried is a little smack on the hand. After several attempts at 'NO.' The way she responds to those tells me we should maybe never even attempt to spank her. I get the feeling I would probably have to beat the crap out of her to get my point across. And I'm a firm believer that if you have to take it that far, it's probably not the right method.

The only thing I know is that I really know nothing.

You will probably read that phrase a lot on this blog. My kids surprise me often enough to keep me on my toes, that's for sure!

I do believe that every child is different and you need to look at what might work for them. Some kids need to be spanked. Now, I know Dr. Phil would disagree with me on this and that's fine. He's got enough people agreeing with him to keep him on the air. He doesn't need my support too.

I try not to discipline in anger. If I lose my cool, the value of the lesson goes right out the window.

And right now, my 'monster toddler' is covered with sherbert ice cream and standing up in her high chair.

I'd better go get a frog to threaten her with.....