Cold Shower

Two nights ago I could have beaten my child.  She woke up at 3:45.  I'd say she wakes up maybe 25% of the time.  WHEN she does.....I usually let her lie in my spot on the bed while I use the bathroom, then I get her a drink, and then I take her back to bed. Sometimes I kneel next to her bed and "lie by her" for like a minute or two and then I tell her I have to go back to bed.  But the other night, when I went to take her back to bed she went CRAZY! And started screaming, "Way mommy bed!"  "Way mommy bed!"  I told her, "No Angie- we don't sleep in mommy's bed.  Mommy will lay by you in YOUR bed."  But she was HYSTERICAL and started crying at the top of her lungs. 
I took her back to her room and knelt by her bed but she just started rolling around like crazy and talking to me.  And every time I tried to leave, she'd throw a fit.  Finally after about 10 minutes of getting NOWHERE, I told her I was going to bed.  I locked her door, and let her scream.  I told Caleb (who was now WIDE awake from the racket she was making) that I was sorry but she's gonna have to cry herself to sleep.  He stayed in bed (such a good boy).  And after about 5-10 minutes she quit crying and fell asleep.  So then......1 hour later she wakes up and comes BACK into my room!  We go through the SAME thing.  Arguing.  Crying.  Spanking.  And I made her cry herself to sleep again.  Now it's after 5:00.  Grr.  I have to get up in an hour and a half.  I climb into bed, and Parker starts snoring.  Sometimes I can get him to stop, but I really didn't wanna lie there and fight it incase he wouldn't.  I grabbed a pillow and blanket and moved to the couch. 

The following morning Angie was ROTTEN.  She followed me around the house as I was getting ready, crying and throwing a fit for me to hold her.....(which of course I can't do at this point in my pregnancy).  I didn't feed the kids breakfast that morning, I just sent it with them to Tresa's and apolagized that they weren't fed and that Angie was cranky. 

Then last night I was trying to get Angie to go to sleep, and she was just acting TERRIBLE!  Arguing with me, asking for toys, or drinks, or for me to lay down by her.  She wouldn't lie still, and she wouldn't stop talking.  Finally I locked the door and left.  Usually she fusses for a second, or not at all, and eventually falls asleep.  Last night she went up to the door and started pounding.  So I came back and spanked her, and put her back in bed.  She cried, and then got out of bed again and started pounding on the door.  So I took her blanket from her.  She cried some more, and got out of bed again and started pounding on the door.  At this point I'd HAD IT!  I remembered a trick my sister uses on her naughty toddlers sometimes, and I went into the bathroom.  I turned on the shower with cold water.  Then I grabbed Angie and stuck her in. 

HOLY COW!  If I thought she was screaming before, I was wrong.  She screamed like I've NEVER heard before.  But the SECOND I asked her to stop crying she did.  I shut off the shower (she was only in there for maybe 5-10 seconds) and told her if she started crying again, that I was gonna put her back in the shower.  Silence.  I wrapped her in a towel and gave her a hug and held her for just a minute.  I told her that it was a no-no to get out of bed.  And that when mommy says it's bed time, that she needs to stay in bed and go to sleep.  She looked at me and said, "Ok."  Wow.  Talk about INSTANT change in behavior. 

I wrapped her tight in her blanket, and put her back in bed.  I told her if she got out of bed again, or started crying again that I was gonna put her back in the shower.  Then I left.   And I didn't hear another sound from her all night.  AND! She slept all night. 

Today she's been doing a lot of talking about the cold shower.....but all I have to do is threaten her and she starts behaving.  Funny, I never had to do this with Caleb.  But this girl has a little attitude that I never had to deal with when Caleb was a toddler.  My sister is right.  It does work.  And the honest truth is, that sometimes no amount of spanking, or taking away precious posessions (like her blanket) or yelling or stressing is gonna get that naughty child to mind.  Sometimes they just need a cold shower.