That boy!

Seth is the sweetest, kindest, smartest boy. Until he's not.

Lately, he's been stubborn and defiant and strong willed, throwing fits at the drop of a hat when things aren't perfectly how he thinks they should be. (On a side note, I'm pretty sure I gave him the perfectionist gene. I'm sorry sweet boy! You can blame that one all on me.)

I think it's just a phase coupled with a very strong need for more one on one time with Mommy. And as much as I wish he didn't have to fight for my attention, he certainly does. That's one of the downsides of a larger family. It doesn't affect the big ones as much since they are more self sufficient and enjoy time alone or together without me.

This morning he didn't want to stay with Nana, which is not common for him. I think it was some combination of being tired from the time change and this phase he's in. It's exhausting and his little sister copycat (who yells or cries with him just because) certainly makes it fun for mom. This morning as he was throwing a fit in the car because he wasn't satisfied with his snack choices, Julia kept saying "Seth, stop! Seth stop!" It made him more angry because she was telling him what to do. It made me smile!

I've tried different things. I've punished him. I've ignored him. I've tried to reason with him. I've apologized to other kids and parents for him a lot. I've prayed for wisdom.

Today at work I was reminded of something I read about kids living up to what you expect them to be or say they are. So I decided to try harder to find positive things to be proud of him for and make a big deal about that rather than accentuating the negative behavior. I also made a point to have 15 minutes (at least) of Seth and mom only time as often as I can. He decided to play Guess Who. It was fun! He won some, I won some and he didn't even seem to mind or notice who won. And at bed time he actually seemed back to his normal sweet self. Letting me leave without screaming after I'd spent a few minutes in his bed with him. We prayed and talked about how much fun we had together and what he want to do tomorrow during our special time. I hope it's a little thing that helps him and us.

This is usually where I give the excuse that I haven't had to deal with a 4 year old before, but I can't use the excuse (since Katelynn was 4 when she joined our family) but somehow it's different. She wasn't defiant at this age, but she also had a much different life up to that point.

I guess each kid is different at each age. Just something else I have to depend on God for. I supposed He likes to keep me leaning on Him so I always know who's in charge.