AHHH I am so irritated! Really I have been in irritation mode most of the day and it's like the kids know it and play on it! So when you are in irritation mode does it ever seem like your kids make a bigger deal out of little things than really need be?
Isn't that in the job description manual for children?
"Child(ren):
Item One: Duties: be dramatic and make a mountain out of a mole hill at least 3 times a week. More often if Mom is irritable or otherwise tired or indisposed to deal with it. "
Bwahahaha!!!! If you only knew the day I had!!!
Yeeeeeeeeees!
sounds like your kids have the same 'naughty manual' that mine has.
it doesn't get any better :)
OMG is there a full moon tonight? My 8 year old was in a fighting mood from the minute he got up today (which according to him was 5 AM - why get up that early?!). All day long it was an endless parade of name-calling, "shut up," "no," throwing elbows, hip checking, punching etc. for all of these perceived offenses from his siblings, which were slight to non-existent. I would send him to his room, he'd calm down and not a couple of minutes later would be back to antagonizing his siblings. Then when my husband got home from work he proceeded to "tell" on me for being so mean and putting him in time out so much today. Then when we had a stern talk about trying to play us against each other and his behavior all day, he laid on the floor and started whimpering that "I'm just so overly emotional today!" Of course I was working against a bunch of deadlines today, it was hot as hell, my mother's helper wasn't around and now I'm up catching up on all the work I couldn't do today refereeing my son against the world. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!
Oh my and I thought I was the only one!!!! My 3 boys have been driving me crazy allll week!!!!! Yes they do! Its like they enjoy doing it..... :{
But of course.
Part of it is language development... Kids read minute facial and body expressions more/better than they listen to language.
When very little (or scared and older) kids pattern off us. If you cry, your toddler will, too. If you're a ball of tension / snapping, you get a snippy stressed out toddler. When you're scared/nervous, they're terrified.
Cool tests show adults pattern the same way in countries they don't speak the language to a degree.
OLDER kids (and adults, when they speak the language) don't pattern... They REACT.
It's a neurological milestone... The switchover. And also the basis of 'marital conversations' that LOOK innocent to start by an outsider... But are predicated on long history of observation. In longterm couples studies, there tends to be a 'warmth' / "that's what they do" attitude, in unhealthy/dying relationships it tend to be an 'Aaaah! They're doing it again!" reaction.
Back to kids.
When we're stressed we're either stressing them out, too.. So they respond in kind / our own medicine... OR they're trying to STOP our stress. Either by getting hyper/happy/trying to distract us (just like a mom does with a toddler about to lose it in public) OR by 'disciplining' us, the same way we do with them. If you use short clipped speech when you're warning them to shape up... Guess what? They'll use different words (I want a Popsicle, my socks don't match, Joe's breathing again), but the SAME tone and speech pattern you use 'Counting to 3 / Full Name Here / Don't make me stop this car).
It's the cool blend. Kids are trying to interact with their environment. Using subtleties we don't usually notice... Because they're responding emotionally/copying tone, pitch, stance, etc., when we'd respond verbally. They're REACTING but not patterning... And don't have the cognitive development yet to use adult lexicon.
