Sydney and Isaac both had their days with sore throats and fevers this last weekend, but thankfully this nasty bug has left us alone! I was able to go to church yesterday to help the primary children practice music for the primary program that they will be doing next Sunday (Sydney still had a teensy bit of a sore throat so she just sat on a pew in the chapel and colored while the other children practiced).
I had a very frustrating time with Isaac in sacrament meeting. Of course this happens a lot. Especially. When. Peter. Is. Out. Of. Town. How is that? This is the process: Isaac won’t sit quietly (jumping, hitting, making noise, etc) so I take him in the foyer and hold him in my lap so he can’t move and quietly tell him, “In our family, we sit reverently in the chapel. Please let me know when you are ready to go back in and sit down quietly.” After speaking very rudely to me, he lost the privilege of having his snack – of course, following through with that made my job ever more difficult.
The last time I took him out (the fourth or fifth time) it was a real struggle. We stayed out in the foyer for the last 30 minutes of sacrament meeting. A couple of times I took him in the relief society room to sit with me – and I did administer two spankings when he head-butted me really hard (It has been about a year since I have spanked Isaac – it just doesn’t work – I’m not doing it again – but I don’t feel bad for doing it and my head still hurts today from the head-butts he gave me). I was nearly in tears but managed to keep it all together. I sat and prayed in my mind while I was holding him and he was fighting so hard to get out and run around. The last few minutes I was able to get him to sit next to me in a large armchair.
Peter and I have been struggling with teaching Isaac reverence the last three or so years and we have been consistent in taking him out and holding him in our laps and talking to him quietly. We have not yelled at him about this or lost our tempers. I know lots of kids have a hard time sitting quietly but this goes beyond that – he is very aggressive sometimes and fights and fights and fights. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I have searched out a few parenting books but none of them deal specifically with helping a young child learn reverence and how to sit quietly (I will even take semi-quietly) – I have been studying the scriptures and praying for help and I have had moments that I have felt very inspired but nothing seems to be leaving a lasting impression on him.
And of course after this terrible sacrament meeting (What did the speakers talk about?) I had to go and work with the primary kids for two hours. I took a nap when I got home (while the kids watched a movie) and my lovely friend, Melissa, invited us over for dinner last night. That saved my day!
He does not exhibit his aggression in preschool or in primary – just at home and in sacrament meeting but I want to get a handle on this now!
And I figured that most of my friends would probably not want to watch Cranford, but then I have no desire to watch the new Indiana Jones movie or other popular equivalents. So there. All I can say is that Cranford was excellent and the BBC should go on making these movies just for me if needs be!