Just in case there was anyone out there who thought I was a perfect parent (ha!), I had to get real with you and show you what was hanging on our fridge the week before Christmas:
As you can probably gather, Sprout’s behavior was getting a little rough. Not so much of the huge rage, destroy property, and urinate on caregivers variety that we were seeing around this time last year, but more of the sassy, disrespectful, talking back flavor. So, I made this handy pictorial representation of naughty and nice and pretended that Santa mailed it to us. Break one of those rules? Lose a present. Go a day following all of them? Gain it back.
Sprout went days without losing a present (surprising, since I thought for sure he’d immediately test the theory) and only did so after he got back from a visit with bio mom. I felt badly about that one since poor behavior following visits isn’t entirely his doing, but follow through is key – even on 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours I knew that. Plus, he immediately gained it back the next day, which cleared my conscience.
What? Are you saying that presents from an oversized elf who magically transports himself down a chimney delivering presents to every child in the world in one night doesn’t qualify as a natural consequence? Pfft.
Alright, alright. Not my finest work. I’m gonna go ahead and blame sleep deprivation. But you know what? It worked.
