Free toddler to good home
Poor Isaac must be going through something personal, because he is a little monster today. I screamed at him, I mean really screamed, for the first time ever. I was cleaning out cat-brother's filthy water dish, and Isaac was right there with me, exploring the kitchen cabinets as he always does. This is fine. But in a split-second, he turned his beady toddler eyes on his favorite illegal obsession -- the cat food dish and bags. He picked up the bags -- fine -- unfolded the tops -- again, fine -- and then took cat-brother's favorite food bag, upended it, and spilled the entire contents all over the kitchen floor, including into the heating register, all while I was screaming "STOP STOP STOP!!!!" at the top of my lungs.
This is not the first time Isaac has ran afoul of the cat food, and each time he gets a "time-out" of sorts, AKA kicked out of the kitchen for a few minutes. Does this work? Of course not -- like a moth to a flame; my baby to cat food. It is infuriating.
Anyway, after this enormous mess, I was just livid. How many times do I have to ask you to leave the cat food alone? I query. Why don't you stop when I tell you to stop? I wonder (loudly) aloud. I place him out of the kitchen and put up the gate, with him screaming back the whole time while I clean up the kitty food everywhere. Then I undo the gate, lead him into the front room, and calmly tell him that I'm sorry I yelled, but that I don't understand why he doesn't listen to me. Then I sit down across from him and start bawling.
Isaac does listen occasionally. When I tell him to "sit", he will usually sit. When we are in public and I tell him "no touch" or "yucky" about some strange object, he won't touch it, though my line may require repeating. Several times. But there are some things that are much more important that he just doesn't get, or care to. "STOP!?!?!?!!?!" for example, yelled at ear-shattering volumes as he toddles directly towards the road. If you were to say, or even yell "Isaac..." he won't so much as look your way. I realize that he isn't even 17 months old yet. But it makes me tear my hair out because it is OBVIOUS that he knows I don't want him to do the things I am preventing him from doing, and when I try to stop him from doing these things, only horrible wailing awaits me. Now, he does seem to be especially cranky these past few days, so I wonder if he's not getting new teeth or whatever, but still. Somebody has to live with him, and that somebody is me. Oh, and that Dada person.
This is not the first time Isaac has ran afoul of the cat food, and each time he gets a "time-out" of sorts, AKA kicked out of the kitchen for a few minutes. Does this work? Of course not -- like a moth to a flame; my baby to cat food. It is infuriating.
Anyway, after this enormous mess, I was just livid. How many times do I have to ask you to leave the cat food alone? I query. Why don't you stop when I tell you to stop? I wonder (loudly) aloud. I place him out of the kitchen and put up the gate, with him screaming back the whole time while I clean up the kitty food everywhere. Then I undo the gate, lead him into the front room, and calmly tell him that I'm sorry I yelled, but that I don't understand why he doesn't listen to me. Then I sit down across from him and start bawling.
Isaac does listen occasionally. When I tell him to "sit", he will usually sit. When we are in public and I tell him "no touch" or "yucky" about some strange object, he won't touch it, though my line may require repeating. Several times. But there are some things that are much more important that he just doesn't get, or care to. "STOP!?!?!?!!?!" for example, yelled at ear-shattering volumes as he toddles directly towards the road. If you were to say, or even yell "Isaac..." he won't so much as look your way. I realize that he isn't even 17 months old yet. But it makes me tear my hair out because it is OBVIOUS that he knows I don't want him to do the things I am preventing him from doing, and when I try to stop him from doing these things, only horrible wailing awaits me. Now, he does seem to be especially cranky these past few days, so I wonder if he's not getting new teeth or whatever, but still. Somebody has to live with him, and that somebody is me. Oh, and that Dada person.
posted by Claire at 6:53 PM
2 Comments:
What is it with pet food? We have the same exact problem with dog food in our house!! Mo can't keep her hands off it. And she's constantly after the dog bowls... she's already broken two. And she, too, ignores my screaming no's. I don't get it. If you figure out what works, let me know!
Ben has those days too. (don't they all?) Most of the time, despite his "spiritedness" he really does listen well. But MAN oh man, when he doesn't... it's like talking to a wall. I yell too! His latest thing is taking anything he can find and banging the wall with it. How many times a day can I say, "No banging, no banging no banging!" before I go insane?!
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