Just breathe.
Tread water.
Pray and be faithful.
A new struggle is surfacing.
This is a hard post to write.
I love my L with all my heart.
He has such a big heart and can be so loving. But I don't know who this child is lately.
This week we have hit a new low. Not that we've never had behavioral issues with him before but we're facing a new challenge and I'm not sure how to handle it.
There is lying.
There is sneaking.
There is disrespect and backtalk.
And not in small doses or I wouldn't be writing this. The first thing that comes to mind is maybe new exposure in school. I really can't think of anything else that has changed that may have brought on this level of increased bad behavior. He's using words we've never used at home and certainly don't approve of. He's lying about almost everything. I get lying, I understand why kids (and adults) do it. But he lies about things that don't even make any sense. Like things he wouldn't even get in trouble for regardless of his answer. And the backtalk. OOOHH the backtalk, dished out at every turn. It almost feels like living with a rebellious teenager. Of course E is soaking all this up and emulating his big brother which just compounds our frustration.
What could be different about kindergarten versus preschool? Is there really that much difference from the 6 hours a week he was in preschool last year to the 35 hours a week of kindergarten?
I just don't know...
I just don't know...
But I do know that this too shall pass, it's just going to be one
of those struggles we need to go through.
of those struggles we need to go through.
And it surely won't be the last.
I pray for the right words to say to L, the right actions to take, and peace in our home.
whew, I know what your going through girl. And i love how you know this too shall pass, but still it doesn't make it any easier while your going through it. Hang in there...much love to ya,:)
ReplyDeletethis is tough stuff, i'm sorry. i think all of our kids have terribly difficult phases. just cause they're human! but God gives us grace to get through it. hang on and don't beat yourself up over it.
ReplyDeleteEek! One it's probably just a phase. Two, I would definitely correlate the behavior to school. I bet there is some other kid that has been acting this way to get attention, so L thinks that if he acts this way, he will get attention too. I have faith that it will get better, but I also wouldn't hesitate to talk to his teacher about it.
ReplyDeleteOh girl, I"m so sorry! I can just hear the pain in your voice while reading this. I wish I had some advice, but unfortunately we aren't there yet. Although that's not to say we don't have behavioral issues sometimes too. Parenting is very hard at times, and you're doing the right thing to pray about it. I'll pray too!
ReplyDeleteOh Krista. I feel your pain. Although our situations are different the feeling we both feel is the same. I know when Kayla started preschool she learned some things we didn't agree with. So I can only imagine how it would be at kindergarten, with more children there and a bigger range of different parenting styles.
ReplyDeleteI pray (and know) you will come up with the right words to say to him. And that everything will work itself out.
you know, i had that problem at that age and later...i lied about EVERYTHING. thinking about it now, i don't really know why. i think i was going through a growth & learning period where i was learning to be independent of my parents and didn't know how they'd react to certain things i told them or did. just a thought.
ReplyDeletesorry to hear about the tough times :-/. i know my days are coming!
cheers.
Oh how I wish I could share some advice, or leave some comforting words...but since I don't have kids, I don't really know. All I can say is I pray that you have the strength and the patience for the up coming days. :(
ReplyDeleteI will say that I left you a little something on my post from tonight if you wanna check it out! :) Hope it brightens your day, friend!
I've struggled with very similar things with one of my children also. I get so frustrated and don't understand. But there are glimmers of hope that it will get better. I hold on to those. Hang in there mama.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about this. I don't have kids yet but I see this kind of behavior with my niece!
ReplyDelete