The Strong Willed Child

I had always heard of this description for some children and that it can often be misdiagnosed by people who just have unruly or difficult children.  It can sometimes be an excuse for parents who don't have control over their kids and by calling them strong willed it seems to get the parent off the hook.  Because of this I never wanted to admit that my own child might be strong willed but after a night like tonight, it's official, she IS strong willed.

I decided to do some research to confirm my thoughts on this and she fits the description to a T.  I have always said that I like her fire because I believe it will benefit her as an adult.  After researching it I felt good to find that I am right.  Here is what they had to say:

Strong willed children can be a challenge to parent when they’re young, but if sensitively parented, they become terrific teens and young adults.  Self-motivated and inner-directed, they go after what they want and are almost impervious to peer pressure.  As long as parents resist the impulse to "break their will," strong-willed kids often become leaders.  


here is a good link for more info...http://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/positive-discipline/Parenting-Strong-Willed-Child


I was very proud to read this and it was much needed because I had reached such a heightened level of frustration I was determined that I was going to spank her until she submitted. I'm so glad I didn't thanks to my loving husband and partner in crime.

I too was a very strong willed child and I'm afraid that if I am not careful, my will to be right will break her spirit and confidence.

The article also said that, "When their heart is set on something, their brains seem to have a hard time switching gears.  They have big, passionate feelings and live at full throttle.


This was the defining moment for me.  This has been the absolute battle lately.  I feel like I am supposed to win every battle but I also have to offer respect and empathy.  I need to figure out what she wants and why.  I need to listen to her and allow her to express herself.  I still need to be in charge, but I am dealing with such a bright little girl that I need to allow her to have a point of view.  I don't have to agree with everything, but I need to calmly guide her through her adrenaline rushes.  She gets so worked up that I can literally feel her heart pounding and she almost stares at me with a desperate look of helplessness.  I truly believe there are times where she can not stop herself and my rage is NOT going to help the matter.

I can typically remain calm, but sometimes it's too much for me and I flip out.  At that point it's a battle of wills and it's very unhealthy.  The amount of emotion and passion that she and I have gets so escalated it's scary.   She is truly the biggest challenge in my life.

I will continue to pray over her, pray for myself, and research how to lovingly and calmly parent her but I need help and I need input.

I am going to download "the strong willed child" by James Dobson to my iphone tonight.  Let's pray for new beginnings and happy 2 year olds.

I just dwibbled a wittle bit

This is Amelie's new saying for when she sorta pees her pants.  It's pretty funny.  She usually waits until the last second to tell me that she has to go potty, so little dwibbles happen a lot.

Tonight, we were at a friends house for dinner and she was laughing so hard at one of the kids that she yelled "mommy, I just dwibbled a wittle bit"  and then kept laughing and said, "I just went pee pee in my pants".

We were cracking up.  Luckily she has her padded undies to catch the dwibbles.  If she keeps up this humor I might have to get some for myself....LOL

Just call me the bulldogger

One of these days I am going to mistake Brielle for a calf and tie her ankles to her wrists.  When it's time for a diaper change I feel like I have entered the rodeo arena and my event is steer wrestling.  I literally have to use my whole forearm to hold her chest down so that she cant flip over to her stomach.  If she breaks through the hold and gets onto her stomach I will try to wipe her booty but she tightens her butt cheeks so tight I cant get in and clean her crack.

If I try to tell her no she looks at me and laughs.  It can be very annoying, but I think it's more funny than it is annoying.  If I took the frustrated route at every diaper change I would never be happy, so I guess I have to embrace the silliness of a busy child and applaud her independence and curiosity.

I love you Brielle, but if I find some rope laying around the house, watch out, you might get hobbled.

(This might be too many hill billy references for my city friends...oh well...google it...LOL)