Who's The Boss?

Sometimes I feel like I am losing control over my kids. It's not that I want to "control" their every thought and every move. 

Well, no, that's not true. I do want to do that. But since it's not a very popular point of view, let's just say that I just want to be able to say what happens when. And between you and me, we'll know the truth.

That's my job right? Control the flow of the day and make sure things that have to and need to happen, do happen.

Now it's time for breakfast. No, there will be no cookies for breakfast. Now it's time to go to school.  Yes, you have to go to school. Now it's time to go to gymnastics.  I don't care if you are tired of gymnastics, we paid good money for this class and we aren't going to waste it.  

YOU VILL DO AS I SAY.

The daily "fights" are everywhere, so I really don't need more to add to it.  And yet that's what I'm getting these days.

My middle child has become very savvy lately at being a good big sister.  She plays with her little brother and they have a ton of fun running and laughing.  She helps him when he needs a hand.  She generally just makes him very happy.  So much so that he gets quite sad when she tries to go off and do her own thing.  Last week she had a play date over at a friends, and after we dropped her off, he cried and cried in the car on the way home, saying her name over and over.  It wasn't until we got back into our plentiful airspace that I could distract him with the aowpanes.

But there's also one more thing she's very good at doing with him. Suggesting things that are not "on the schedule". 

For example, I try to keep the TV watching to a minimum, which means under 2 hours a day [according to studies...].  So I will have just turned off the TV after a major time allotment, and not more than 30 minutes later, she'll hear him say "Elmo? Tee Bee?".  So she'll ask him "Do you want to watch Elmo on TV?  Okay, let's watch Elmo."  And while he's getting himself all comfy on his favorite floor pillow in front of the TV, awaiting his next score to feed his addiction, she comes to tell me to turn on the TV.

That's when it all falls apart.  I have to be the bad guy.  And she doesn't understand why she can't make him happy.  And I'm frustrated and I try to explain it all.  But really, nobody is happy and it just exasperates us all.

This is what happens when anarchy strikes your household.

At breakfast time while the pantry is being browsed for breakfast items and he spots a box of his favorite treats, I might hear "Little brother said he wants a cookie.  You want a cookie little brother?  Yup, mom he wants a cookie."

After dinner, while my girls are about to have dessert and he's about to be put to bed without dessert, since he really has no clue he's missing anything, she'll say "We are having cupcakes! You want a cupcake too, little brother?".  She's just so excited about hers that she wants to share the experience with him, bless her heart.  But now he's repeating the word "cutcate!" over and over while I'm carrying him off to bed without one.

Little helpers are great.  I can't live without them really.  But they do add one more thing to the list of things I have to control during the day.  

Lest they take over the mother ship.