Supernanny

Jason and I made a special effort to watch a re-run of Supernanny last night. The couple had a four year-old and 3 year-old twins, so they were at least close to our dynamic. After watching the poor misguided couple in action, I think we’ve figured out what we’re doing wrong at our house (or at least some of the most obvious mis-steps).

1) We don’t have a designated time-out area. Supernanny says having a timeout beanbag makes it a portable form of discipline. Now we can take it upstairs, downstairs and off to grandma’s with ease.

2) We haven’t been doing time-outs correctly. Honestly, when I put someone in timeout, there’s a good chance they’ll be there indefinitely if I get distracted by someone else’s behavior (good, bad or indifferent). In my turning over a new leaf, I’m now focused on establishing WHY someone is going to time out, HOW long they have to stay there (3 minutes) and WHAT I expect them to do to rectify the situation once time-out is over (i.e., apologize).

3) I yell. A lot. Jason does to some degree, but I’m the one with a chronic sore throat and that has GOT to change. In spending just one day focused on speaking in a reasonable tone and not allowing myself to get upset with the misbehaving child, I’ve seen a dramatic difference in the level of tantrums and how quickly we can get back to an even keel.

I’ve already mentioned my desire to step away from spanking except in situations that threaten safety, so I’m hoping these tweaks will help us get to that level of peace where the kids know their boundaries and aren’t always testing. And where I don’t feel like a drill sergeant on the verge of a stroke.