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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The throttling 3's

This post could also be called, "Turning the Bedroom Door Lock to the Outside Ensures that One's 3-year-old Doesn't Die By His Mother's Hands."

Here is the stage we are in:  G is 3 and 7/12 years old; he's a boy (so developmentally delayed by at least 6 months compared to what a female child would be like at this same age); and he's stuck in the middle, sandwiched like a sardine between N and M.  He has also apparently inherited every pesky personality trait from both sides of the family.  Finally, he is at that horrible point where he still needs a nap every day, but he often doesn't want to take one until about 2:45, which is much too late.  And if he doesn't take a nap, he is even more of a turd than he normally is when well-rested and in a good mood.

N was difficult at 3, but I don't recall having it out with her, watching her flail and cry and scream, at least two times a day every.single.solitary.day.  Sure, she would have some tantrums every week, but not morning, noon and night.  If G would sleep all the way through the night without waking me up at least once, I might have a better tolerance for his daytime behavior.  If G didn't have a little brother who also wakes up during the night, mommy might be considerably more willing to let certain behaviors slide.

When I think about him starting preschool this fall, I feel concern....mostly for his teachers and their mental health.  It is all I can do to tolerate him, and I have overwhelming momma-bear love for him.  I cannot imagine how quickly I would jack him up if I wasn't his mother.  It is fortunate that he has a terribly cute grin and mischievous eyes; I fear he will be the "bad boy" for whom all the girls go nuts.

G is persistent, a trait that is good for many things in life.  But he uses his persistence to persistently aggravate others.  I really wonder how things will go in preschool when he plays with other kids his age, how long before another kid cracks him in a the lip.

Of course, I worried a bit about how G would do in speech class, and he does really well.  He sits and participates and doesn't appear to annoy his classmates and teacher.  He is actually a pretty good kid in speech therapy, I think.  Perhaps he just shows his ass to the ones he knows love him enough to not beat his brains out....although we are sorely tempted.

Honestly, most of the time I cannot stand G, and I truly hate that.  I stay home because I want to enjoy my children and their early childhoods.  I want to be with them.  But G makes that tremendously hard a lot of the time.

When N was little and even when I had N and G, I never, ever thought about going back to work.  I  think about it nearly everyday now even though I know that I don't really want to go back to work because I would be dealing with surly middle schoolers.  And as far as I'm concerned the insanity that is a 7th grader is just like a 3-year-old, except taller and with a snottier attitude.

What I want is for G to move a little more quickly through this stage that seems like it has been going on for fucking eva.  Because there is much in G to love and to enjoy.

1 comment:

Giselle said...

Lily is still tantrumy and annoying at home, and yet she is the angel/star of the class at school. Hopefully G will be the same.

And I had Michael screaming and thrashing on the floor today because he didn't want a piece of toast for breakfast. I had not made him a piece and I had told him that he didn't have to have one, I'd make him something different. He still threw his cup across the room and had a full blown tantrum...even though I had fully agreed with his request. Ugh. 3 year olds.