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Jack would never come in the house if it were up to him. Now Bennett (my precious nephew) would be running inside once it got dark. This all sounds great, right?
Well it is great when Mama can go outside and when it isn't raining or cold outside. If we are in the house then Jack is crying at the door to go outside. If we are outside and we need to go in he throws a major tantrum and does not get over it very quickly.
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It's awful seeing him get so hurt over something he really wants. I want him to love the outdoors but the constant crying to go outside, bringing his shoes to me, and fit throwing is difficult to deal with. It was a windy cooler day yesterday so I only let him play outside for about fifteen minutes after we walked next door to my sister's house. He started pitching his fit as soon as I started walking him toward the house. Once we got inside I tried to calm him by playing trains with him but he just threw them down.
I would use outside as a punishment since it is something I know he enjoys. I'm just not sure if that is what I want to do. For one, I want him to love being outside. Also, I'm not sure how much he understands at this age. I don't want to support the tantrums. I always explain why we have to go inside, why we can't go outside, and I warn him when he has a few more minutes left to play (which I'm sure he really doesn't understand).
What really bothers me is when we are outside and everything is all happy and I can't help but have that dread of having to take him inside. He really throws the biggest and longest fit when we go inside. It puts him in an awful mood. He has the memory of an elephant and holds a grudge. He may have gotten those attributes from me. Oops! My mom says I was the same way about outside.
If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. Hopefully this is just a phase. Tantrums are annoying but they also break my heart because I never like to see Jack so unhappy.
Any words of wisdom?
We phase that at times too. I'm sorry I don't have any helpful suggestions. Yesterday I had to run pick something up and I made the mistake of saying "park". He flipped out when I turned the opposite direction. So, we ended up standing outside at the park in the cold...while it sprinkled. Boys are just crazy at times.
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids throw tantrums I always say something like "you're frustrated/angry/whatever because you want this. Unfortunately we can't for this reason. I'm so sorry." Then if the fit continues I tell them that they can go take a minute and let me know when they're ready to play/talk/eat/whatever.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain! It's sweet to see them playing and loving being outside, but you can't stay outside forever. Our best strategy to get Olive to come inside without a fight is to offer her something she loves. We'll ask her if she wants to take a bath, watch Daniel Tiger or have some goldfish. It doesn't always work, but if we start talking about a bath outside and talk it up, then she's excited to head in with us. We've had many a tantrum bringing her inside, but this is my best strategy for now. Someone suggested setting a timer on their phone and when the timer goes off, it's time to go inside. I think that will work for us in a few years.
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