THERE'S A YARD! No, there's no grass yet (which is fine by Franklin as he loves to grab handfuls of dirt pour them on Mommy)
We spent 30mins outside in the warmer weather and sunshine yesterday. And you know what? He took a nap an hour later.
Sad Note: An ant got into his shirt and stung him repeatedly. He has three stings on his shoulder. Poor kid.
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| He spent most of the time running from the house to the fence... |
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| ...and back again. |
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| He'd pretend to go inside and then rush back out. |
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| No, not inside yet. |
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| Every stumble is a chance to pick up rocks! |
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Like I've said before: My son is spirited. He has a ton of pent-up energy. Living in the apartment I kept noticing that around noon his behavior would go downhill and stay there until Daddy got home. I was disciplining him constantly and not seeing any improvement. So, instead of upping the discipline (like some parenting books will tell you to do) I reevaluated the situation. What did Daddy have that Mommy didn't? Well, Mommy was big and pregnant with horrible back pain and Daddy was getting down on the floor and wrestling or chasing Frankie through the living room...things Mommy wasn't physically able to do. We (Stefan and I) concluded that it was that pent-up energy that was causing the behavior problems. However, there wasn't much we could do in an apartment with nowhere to play outside! This yard is a huge blessing. We did the best we could with the previous small space, but having a big yard to just PLAY in has been amazing.
So, if you're noticing behavior issues in your toddler (especially your toddler BOY) evaluate how much space he has to play. Are you inside a lot? Maybe there's a lot of pent up energy causing the behavior problems. If you can't get outside try a really physical inside activity. Dance like crazy, run around, exercise, etc... I'm willing to bet if you try a different tactic you'll find more success.
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