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August 2, 2011

WW: Creating a Pre-teen, Monster?

Does your child throw tantrums in public places?  Okay, I know, dumb question....of course they do.  Well just recently, we arrived in the cute little bay side town of Benica, CA, to walk in the Portuguese Holy Ghost procession, where Paige represents Petaluma walking as 'Little Queen'.

So what's a parent to do when 'Little Queen' sees older cousin who is also Junior Queen, walk into the room an hour before the procession is to begin already wearing her cape?  'Little Queen' looks up to her cousin Morgan, Junior Queen, and wants to be just like her and wear her own cape an hour before the procession begins.

As parent, I make the command decision and tell Little Queen "no" and proceed to take in the sights and activity happening around the room.  I begin snapping pictures, trying to capture our Benicia moments, but 'Little Queen' is ticked and wants nothing to do with photos.

She disses me once,












twice,













three times,
















 a fourth time, next to the cape which is parked on a chair.  Paige wasn't crying or screeming...just pouting.  Upset I was not allowing her, her Queenly duties, on her terms. 















Then, I GAVE IN!  Yes, I did.

Am I creating a pre-teen Monster? 

I did confine her to the chair with her cape.  She was not to walk around and tire herself out before the procession began in 45 minutes. 
















She wore the cape, sat in the chair, until she saw that her cousin, Morgan had taken her own cape off, and of course wanted to do the same.

Fine.






















At least I was able to capture one photo of Paige looking at the camera with all three Petaluma Queens, before the procession line-up occurred outside.























Do you stick to your guns or do you {or did you} give in once in a while with your own kids?

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8 comments:

PLU said...

I gotta say stick to your guns and plan/think ahead. I often solicit the help of my nephew or older kids to help Bryce. Whatever we do consistency is key and I know your little princess will be a fine queen one day. Love ya mama!!

Kathleen von Raesfeld said...

I hear you! This tends to happen to my youngest when we are at cheer competitions - I just go wild inside because her behavior is not OK. I have learned not to go "head to head" with her because there is no winning and I have a horrible day being angry. Great advice about enlisting the help of that role model. I get the ear of a coach - just need to make sure her sister is not making it worse by taunting her. Oh the joys of raising girls. Definitely not interested in raising a sassy pre-teen monster! Great topic today.

Nancy Grossi ~ Churned In Cali ~ The Wife of a Dairyman said...

Plubell! Great to see you here! And with some great advice:) Hope your Bryce is doing well!

Kathleen, yes, it's the younger ones, you're so right:)

Katie said...

Oh Miss Paige is a princess and you will have so much to look forward to in the future! Stick to your guns. I just told my hubby tonight that I am sad, very very sad I'm not flying to San Diego right now to meet up with Nancy. HAVE FUN!

Anonymous said...

I gotta say for the most part I stick to my guns. This is more difficult when the grandparents are around because they try to bribe the kids to behave or they go over my head and sneak them in a treat to make them cheer up. Oy. Preschooler is more difficult because of his anger issues - doesn't control them one bit - so there's usually a lot of yelling/screaming/crying as loud as a human can possibly cry involved. It works better with him to pull him away from where he can get attention from anyone and have a little chat about his behavior.

Grandma Bonnie said...

The Photos are great they really caught the mood she was in. I did not stick to my guns when I was younger with my kids. But now that I babysit the grandchildren every day I have learned the hard way. They can wear grandma out if I let they get away with anything. My kids are always asking why do their children listen to me and do what I say but won't listen to them. Lol, they will learn.
New follower from wordless Wednesday.

Good Girl Gone Green said...

Someone does not look happy with her arms crossed! :)

Kristi {at} Live and Love...Out Loud said...

I definitely try to stick to my guns, but sometimes it's okay give in under certain circumstances. For the most part we really try to remain consistent. Good luck figuring out what works best for you in your parenting role. The challenges never end, do they?
Thanks for stopping by and linking up for WW. I'm following you now via GFC and "liked" your FB fan page as well. Have a great day. :)