A guest post by the wonderful Moderate Mum
My son was a good baby. I know you’re not supposed to say
that because all children are a gift and labels stick and yadda yadda yadda but
seriously the kid was easy. He had his moments of course and he was never a fan
of sleeping but during the day he was super chilled – he ate what he was
offered and was happy to hang in a bouncy chair for an episode of Bake Off. He
was a pretty low maintenance little dude. My friends told me, ‘It’s your
parenting! It’s because you’re such a relaxed mum that he doesn’t give you much
trouble.’ And fool that I am I started to believe them. So when one morning
Roscoe woke up as a toddler, complete with an intense need to destroy; an
alarming ability to ignore boundaries and an unwavering commitment to refusal,
it hit me like a Red Bull laced espresso.
To add insult to injury Roscoe also gave up naps, I didn’t
even get time to formulate my strategy. I spent twelve hours a day saying, ‘No,
Roscoe’ I gave serious consideration to recording the phrase and having is
playing on repeat, I could turn it off for the five minutes a day it wasn’t
necessary. I couldn’t believe what my darling, placid baby had become. Gone
were the long lunch dates, magazine reading in the park and in their place –
endless negotiations, battles and meltdowns (on both sides).
For some reason his new hatred of nappy changing hit me
hardest. Perhaps because there was no way to avoid it; perhaps because it was
so obviously helping him; probably because no one likes being covered in poop. It
was one of those changes that my worst moment came. He has the strength of ten
inebriated man. Limbs were flying everywhere and his power move, the head butt,
was being employed on a frequent basis. As I tried to restrain him, I could
feel the tension rise through my body. A sharp pain pulsed on my right temple.
My breathing had become ragged and shallow, ‘No, Roscoe, no,’ I said, ‘No
Roscoe, no,’ I pleaded and finally, well and truly at the ends of my wit,
‘Roscoe, stop it or I will…’
I’ll never know what I was going to say next and that’s what
scared me most. I did not know what I was capable of, I hadn’t lost control of
my son, I had lost control of the parent I wanted to be. What was I threatening
- I will smack? I will shout? I will abandon you? I suddenly realised I was
expecting a one year old to be responsible for an atmosphere that it was my job
to create, I had an opportunity to flip a switch and I was gonna take it…
‘Roscoe stop it or I will…tickle!’ I launched into the
greatest tickle fest man has known and well, who can resist a tickle fest? The tension was released, we both were calm
and connected and had forgotten what we were angry about. I had turned my worst
moment into one of our best.
Now I love when I feel that telltale tension in my shoulders
or when my breathing starts to get shallow because they are helpful reminders
that I need to stop, connect and find the joy. I don’t even have to think about
it because my automatic response is a tickle fest and tickle therapy has proven
to be a very restorative process. No matter what when my partner comes back
after a long day and asks me how things have been, I can honestly say – we
laughed all day.
Thanks for having me!
ReplyDeleteTickle therapy sounds like the best solution to this! What a great post :-)
ReplyDeleteaww I remember the head butting stage my son went through, if it wasnt that he would bite. It was so so hard and I found myself in tears but after a while i tried to distract him which slowly started to work. thank you for this lovely post xx
ReplyDeleteParenthood is so hard isn't it, up and down - but so rewarding
ReplyDeleteI've been there, I've walked away from many situations to take ten deep breaths. So pleased you managed to turn it into a positive situation. x
ReplyDeleteParenting is so hard. I think that there are so many stages and there is no middle ground. It is brill or hard
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of tickle therapy - Sebby has gone from being a chilled out boy to a 2 year old dark destroyer!!
ReplyDeleteFabulous how we find creative ways to bring calm and order to a situation - but you have to go through the crap to get there!! Well done on tickle therapy!!
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of tickle therapy I have to say x
ReplyDeleteAhh, the toddler years - it's when they suddenly start becoming aware that they have a little bit of power, and for us parents it's a big shock! The terrible twos, the new (to me, it wasn't a saying in my day!) threenager year, the terrible tens... ever age will bring its challenges, it's how you deal with them that keeps you sane! Love the tickle therapy, fantastically handled! x
ReplyDeleteHad to giggle. We struggled with babyhood mostly because of lack of sleep due to incessant feeding. Toddler years were a breeze, but it got more difficult again when school started.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of tickle therapy and I think I need to go tickle my munckins now! lol Mich x
ReplyDeleteParenting is one of the hardest thing ever. It's the little things like this that makes things easier!
ReplyDeleteoh i seem t have forgotton all the bits like this and i went through many x
ReplyDeleteHaha I like the idea of tickle therapy to distract.
ReplyDeleteDeep breaths.... Breathe :D
ReplyDeleteWe all have those moments. I need to remember to breathe...
ReplyDeleteChildren sure can be trying. Thankfully, tickle therapy never fails.
ReplyDelete