Sick of being Mom

Has anyone just felt like they have had enough? I have 2 girls ages 8 & 9 and lately I think that all I do is discipline them for something. I have tried to just let things go and ignore as much as I can, but the more I ignore the more they do. The more that I work to make them understand that their actions have concequences the more that they do. It seems that every day its either one or the other that is in trouble. They don't listen to anything no matter how much I tell them. Lately I just don't even want to be in the same room with either of them and now that school is almost over I actually dread the summer as I really don't like them very much lately.

well I dont know your full story but it sounds like they are needing more attention than they get or just constantly testing you (looking for how much they can get away with). If I knew more maybe I could offer some advice or help.

Sounds like you need a break! Maybe an evening out with friends or at the library or something just to get your mind off things.

By the way, you may wish to change your screen name as it shows your email address!!

I have days like that with my kids, where I feel like all I did was say NO all day long...I agree with Di, they go through phases of testing and also seem to misbehave most the days I'm not paying as much attention to them. I think it comes with the territory, to a degree

well i think its because of the attention they are wanting. I dont know your whole story BUT.... I have a dayhome and i have a couple boys that are just feeding off of negative attention( the time outs, consequences, etc) and they do it only when im tending to the younger kids, such as playing with them. Once i started games to include the older ones or just have seperate time with the older ones the bad behaviour started to go away. Plus kids need the schedules, the consistency with the daily routines. If they feel they are not getting positive attention they will be bad to get the negative because to them attention is attention so if i have to get it the negative way then thats how i will get it. Try doing stuff more with them, take them outside for walks, to the park or just play a game in the back yard. take them to the zoo, or other places. even a walk through the mall will make them happy! I also learned in my course im taking( level one ..towards my early childhood) that kids will feel more comfortable and happyw ith a daily routine that is consistent. Take a time in the day you have them and have them pick a game to play and play with them. just get down and be a kid yourself. Kids love that! Even crafts is an idea.

Shelly I think you had some great ideas. I couldnt have said it any better.

You know, this could have been my post a couple of weeks ago. I was so dreading the summer b/c my kids were fighting so badly. But, I sat down and made a list of things to do with them everyday and I decided to start it on the weekends until school is out to see if it helped any. And what do you know? Their behavior is like daylight and dark. This past Friday I surprised them with a trip to the pool...they could not stop telling me what a great mom I was Saturday we had a picnic at the park and we all had so much fun. And you know, that was enough to tide them over for awhile. Plus it wore them out and they went to bed early.

This summer we are going to be out of town a lot, but when we are home I'm planning trips to the pool, park and library. I also plan on down days when we just do crafts and things at home.

I'm sure you are a great mom and you have great kids. I think they are just bored Hang in there.

This post has been edited by Maddie&EthansMom on May 17 2007, 02:14 PM

Yes, I think boredom can be a huge factor. I could have written your post a million times. Especially working full time during the day then gone two nights a week for work as well -- by the time I get home I'm exhausted and on the weekends I'm playing catch-up on chores and when I'm not doing that I just want to relax and that's when I notice the girls getting harder for me to deal with.

I like Aimee's idea of lists of things to do. I have always been a list-oriented person up until I had kids and slowly that fell to the waist-side. I might have to try that one myself Aimee. Thanks.