Mom going crazy

[myownenemy]

I have a three year old princess and a soon to be five year old son. Some times they are perfect children. Other times my son will just have meltdowns and cry, this happens at least five times a day and i feel like i want to just pull my hair out and scream at the top of my lungs. I really enjoy my children, but lately it is like I look forward to them going to sleep, just not the rountine. I ask them to take a bath and my little girls says "no" , boys first and in return he says the same. Then puttting on the pjs, they want to wiggle and dance and jump on the bed. Then my son usually doesnt want to brush his teeth. And picking out a bedtime story is a 15 minute thing. From there it goes to whose story is first. Then they want to eat or having something to drink. Its not just bedtime, its like this all day. In the morning trying to get them in the bathroom to wash their face and teeth is a struggle. Getting them to get dressed, same thing. WHat do the want to eat for breakfast and then getting them to sit still at the table and not play with their food. Sit down with your legs in front of you, then the other one is playing with the food..Im going crazy

[Jennifer]

sounds like you need to take control of your household. somehow your kids have gotten control and you are abiding by what they are saying. I would suggest picking one thing to start with, but the bottom line here is the three C's of parenting, caring, consistency and consequences. Do they ever go to time out, get things taken away for their behavior?

I know it is draining being on top of things all the time, but that is the only way to get things done. Do you have any help?

[myownenemy]

I do give them time outs. I also watch nanny 911 and picked something off of there. When they do what they are supposed to without crying or screaming , they get a ticket to put in their jar. Once they reach 20 tickets they will get a trip to walmart to pick a small toy. When they are not listening, or are not willing to comply with me, I get the ticket jar out and count to three. If by three they are nnot where they should be , I start taking tickets away. I have been doing this for two months and they still have not reached 20 tickets. Each one has their own jar. It just doesnt stop the bickering between the two. It gets so tiring, especially when i am trying to put away clothes or clean the house and i have to intervene every 20 minutes. Thank you for the reassurance.

[Jennifer]

hello
ticket/reward programs don't usually work because they either work towards the reward or never get to the reward, if you want to continue it I would lower the number and remember that punishements should not be for you too just for them.

as far as the bickering goes you might try ignoring if that is possible and llet them start to learn how to resolve conflict. how are they around others? if fine then it is a power struggle issue with your kids. you are the adult and any discipline you do is helpful for them. kids need structure and rules we all do in order to survive.

[Nursing_Mom]

I would suggest that maybe you put your 3 year old to bed first, then maybe half hour to 45mins later put your 5 year old to bed. A 3 and 5 year old should have different bed times instead of putting them down at the same time. That way you have individual time with each of them.

As far as the bickering between the two, this is normal behavior. They are in competition and it will pass as they get older.

[Nursing_Mom]

I would suggest that maybe you put your 3 year old to bed first, then maybe half hour to 45mins later put your 5 year old to bed. A 3 and 5 year old should have different bed times instead of putting them down at the same time. That way you have individual time with each of them.

As far as the bickering between the two, this is normal behavior. They are in competition and it will pass as they get older.