Joy …. (Photo credit: Citril)
How To Use The Naughty Rug
I was getting to the end of my tether, my daughter, just over a year old was fast becoming a nightmare. Throwing tantrums, banging her head against things, throwing food and toys whenever she didn’t get her own way or sometimes just for the hell of it.My daughter is the youngest of my 4 children and the only girl. She was ‘spoilt’ as a baby because of this, plus her daddy and my sons 16, 15 and 10 all adored her. When I say spoilt, I mean, she was cuddled constantly, given anything before she needed it, never left her alone and to be honest I was more attentive to her as I’d waited so long for her to come along after 7 yrs of trying.When I had my sons, they were fed, changed, winded and put back in their crib…. not Abbie ! There was too many of us not to give her attention 24/7. But now the novelty of ‘the new baby’ had worn off. When she cried, the responses were ‘ mum, your baby is crying’. Great, they’ve all made a rod for me to carry.I carried on their routine, until I just couldn’t take any more. Going out for meals or visiting friends and family was just a big NO. Never had I ever been embarrassed by any of my children but I was finding myself apologising for her behavior repeatedly. Enough was enough.I’d seen the ‘the naughty step’ being used on parenting programmes on TV and decided to give it a try – no good. She would thrash about in temper, I was petrified she was going to hurt herself rather than it being constructive. I decided to try her on a rug. At least on the floor she couldn’t hurt herself.I’d give her a warning when she was being ‘naughty’ and tell her to stop and explain that she WOULD be sat on that rug if she didn’t listen. Yes, at first she thought it was a joke but the more determined I got ,the sound of my voice was stronger and deeper, the more she listened. It’s hard work but the key was for me to be consistant in it and carry the ‘punishment’ out. Along with it though you have to praise good behavior and give good attention or they don’t realize exactly what they’re doing wrong. Also, forgiveness is a big thing too. When the time out is over ( 1 min per year) Explain again why they were put there and how it made you feel. Ask your child for an apology, then the bit that we all love is the hugs.Within a week, there was a marked difference. As soon as realised it had worked I took her out for Sunday dinner with the family. She sat and ate without much fuss, no more than I’d expect from any toddler anyway.She’s now 20 months and although she does sometimes have her moments, these are getting less as time goes on. I’d recommend it to anyone.Contributed by a mother on my Facebook Mums Group*You could help us share the blogs love to helping others by sharing via the social sharing buttons bellow.
