Tuesday, November 27, 2007

TEMPORARY INSANITY

Here's an additional entry for Webster's:
tem·po·rary in·san·ity \ tem-pə-rer-ē in-śan-ə- \ n a state in which an otherwise normal (??) parent enters into a shouting match with their 13 year old daughter at 7:15 AM. This same parent can quote quite proficiently how to work on behavior problems, and knows very well that yelling will not work.

Luckily, as I was going full blast, my 15 year old said "Mom, I'm sure they can hear you downstairs…" I stopped, and with 20 seconds of reflection, decided on a new course of action: walk away and ignore the behavior. Within 3 minutes the problem was resolved, and for the remaining time until school, Ricki was fine. So why in the world did I yell to start with? Temporary insanity……… Have a nice day!

No comments: