This month's "celebration"round robin seems to have taken it's toll on our family. Zack is a crazy, crazy little person. He seems to be having fun, but it's driving us batty. I think he's been getting candy and treats at every turn; then he turns into this jumping, shouting, spastic force of nature. Who wants to spend all day saying No! or being said No! to?? Not us, and theoretically not him (though I doubt he's in favor of a change).
So we are beginning an experiment. For at least a few days, we're cutting off the sweets and trying to see where all they are embedded in our routine. For example, when Zack wakes up (before we do), he is allowed to have a "breakfast snack" (as in, "Mommy, that isn't a breakfast! That's just a breakfast snack!") of a yogurt. Only problem is that even the least sweet individual prepackaged yogurt is pretty sugary. For another example, we have this little basket where we put various small treats. It started with we had all this Easter candy, so we put it in the basket to have one small item a day. There were also Benefiber chewables in there, and Zack chose one of those as often as he chose a Hershey's kiss or a Starburst (we were really feeling clever over the additional fiber). That seemed to be working fine. But then, after Halloween, there were all these (small but not tiny) candy bars in it, items which were MUCH bigger than a Hershey's kiss, and Zack wasn't interested in the small things or the Benefiber. Plus, once a day turned into after every meal, and could he please please please have regular dessert AND a treat from the basket?? Plus, I think they are giving him sweets at school. He came homing this week (yes, in December) saying it was a special occasion and they got to have candy corn at rest time. Hmm... restful...
We simply can't make it through the last half of the month, and a long car trip coming up, without some kind of reset on the crazy behaviour. We told Zack if we got on a better behavioural roll, we would add back in a few treats at upcoming celebrations and see what happens.
I'll keep you posted on whether it helps.
So we are beginning an experiment. For at least a few days, we're cutting off the sweets and trying to see where all they are embedded in our routine. For example, when Zack wakes up (before we do), he is allowed to have a "breakfast snack" (as in, "Mommy, that isn't a breakfast! That's just a breakfast snack!") of a yogurt. Only problem is that even the least sweet individual prepackaged yogurt is pretty sugary. For another example, we have this little basket where we put various small treats. It started with we had all this Easter candy, so we put it in the basket to have one small item a day. There were also Benefiber chewables in there, and Zack chose one of those as often as he chose a Hershey's kiss or a Starburst (we were really feeling clever over the additional fiber). That seemed to be working fine. But then, after Halloween, there were all these (small but not tiny) candy bars in it, items which were MUCH bigger than a Hershey's kiss, and Zack wasn't interested in the small things or the Benefiber. Plus, once a day turned into after every meal, and could he please please please have regular dessert AND a treat from the basket?? Plus, I think they are giving him sweets at school. He came homing this week (yes, in December) saying it was a special occasion and they got to have candy corn at rest time. Hmm... restful...
We simply can't make it through the last half of the month, and a long car trip coming up, without some kind of reset on the crazy behaviour. We told Zack if we got on a better behavioural roll, we would add back in a few treats at upcoming celebrations and see what happens.
I'll keep you posted on whether it helps.
These pictures REALLY remind me of some scenes from Where The Wild Things Are!
ReplyDelete