Well, in terms of "looking for signs that she might be stressed," today we had a doozy.
She just started a dance class at a studio near our house. Today would have been her second session. Her friend, Lyla, is in the class. Her teacher looks like a giraffe.
Anyway, the plan was to go to dance class, have lunch with pals AJ and/or Natalie, then take Kiddo to her first ever comic convention. We'd been talking about it all week.
Here's what happened. Took kid to her dance class...
She wouldn't go inside. I went in with her, helped her get her shoes on, made sure she saw Lyla, and told her I'd be right back and that I'd stand outside the whole time. Nothing doing. It was like that day at school when she wouldn't let go. But worse. I begged. I pleaded. I cajoled. I bargained. I threatened. The teacher came over to see if she could help. Lyla came over to see if she could help. Nope.
I took Kiddo outside so the rest of the class could start. We sat on a bench for a while. I told her that if she goes to dance class then we could go play after. Nope. I told her that if she did NOT go to dance class there would be no playing. No comic convention. No lunch date. No more TV. Little shit called my bluff. We went home.
She screamed and cried the whole way. Fortunately it isn't a long drive. I told her to go upstairs and get changed and don't come out until she was done crying. Yes, I played the "go to your room" card for the first time ever. And somehow it worked.
A bit later she came downstairs and climbed in my lap. She said, "I just didn't want you to leave."
I don't cry easily. That just about did me in.
Kiddo is having some profound separation anxiety right now. I could have handled this morning's freakout better than I did, I think. I'm still kicking myself over it. Anyway, we talked to Mama on Skype twice tonight which helped. And we had our own comic book convention at home. I pulled out all 11 boxes of my comics and found a bunch that would not be inappropriate for a four-year-old.
Now she is asleep and the house is a total mess. I may or may not clean it tonight.
She just started a dance class at a studio near our house. Today would have been her second session. Her friend, Lyla, is in the class. Her teacher looks like a giraffe.
Anyway, the plan was to go to dance class, have lunch with pals AJ and/or Natalie, then take Kiddo to her first ever comic convention. We'd been talking about it all week.
Here's what happened. Took kid to her dance class...
She wouldn't go inside. I went in with her, helped her get her shoes on, made sure she saw Lyla, and told her I'd be right back and that I'd stand outside the whole time. Nothing doing. It was like that day at school when she wouldn't let go. But worse. I begged. I pleaded. I cajoled. I bargained. I threatened. The teacher came over to see if she could help. Lyla came over to see if she could help. Nope.
I took Kiddo outside so the rest of the class could start. We sat on a bench for a while. I told her that if she goes to dance class then we could go play after. Nope. I told her that if she did NOT go to dance class there would be no playing. No comic convention. No lunch date. No more TV. Little shit called my bluff. We went home.
She screamed and cried the whole way. Fortunately it isn't a long drive. I told her to go upstairs and get changed and don't come out until she was done crying. Yes, I played the "go to your room" card for the first time ever. And somehow it worked.
A bit later she came downstairs and climbed in my lap. She said, "I just didn't want you to leave."
I don't cry easily. That just about did me in.
Kiddo is having some profound separation anxiety right now. I could have handled this morning's freakout better than I did, I think. I'm still kicking myself over it. Anyway, we talked to Mama on Skype twice tonight which helped. And we had our own comic book convention at home. I pulled out all 11 boxes of my comics and found a bunch that would not be inappropriate for a four-year-old.
Now she is asleep and the house is a total mess. I may or may not clean it tonight.
Comments
Hang in there.
xo
schkla