Have A New Kid By Friday Experiment

It's been over a year since I've updated my blog. I regret not writing down all the cute and funny things Declan says all the time. I've posted most of them on facebook and hopefully they are stored in facebook outer space somewhere waiting for me to retrieve them. The past year has been an adventure with Declan. The older he gets, the smarter he gets but the smarter he gets...the sassier he gets! And we practically have a monster on our hands. I knew even before I had kids that disciplining them someday would be a challenge. I watched my sister scold her kids and I felt so bad for the little buggers. Even if they were being bad, I kept thinking to myself..."they are just kids, they don't know better." But now having my own kid, I know he knows better but I still can't ever come up with the right disciplinary actions. I threaten him with not giving him his favorite foods or not letting him watch tv but I always give in. And he knows he can get away with just about anything. His dad punishes him by swatting him on the butt and that makes me cringe. I can't help but think we should not be spanking our son. My husband and I both need to agree on how to discipline our child. So just a couple weeks ago, my sister told me about a book called "Have A New Kid By Friday" and I decided to give it a try. I'm only on "Monday" and this is the day when I have to step back and assess the situation. I have to be aware of Declan's bad behavior and how I handle it. I tried to see if there was some rhyme or reason as to why Declan acts out but there doesn't seem to be any one thing that throws him into a tantrum, or an "I don't like you!" tangent. I think he just has a routine and if anything gets him out of that routine he doesn't like it. It could be something as simple as his sock doesn't feel right on his foot. That right there could throw him into an all out war with us. He will start saying it is our fault that his sock doesn't feel right. It's strange. Who knows why kids do, say and act the way they do. Declan can also act very spoiled and has more attitude than a 14 year old girl. He expects so much. He wakes up in the morning and says "Where are you taking me today?" When he watches tv he yells out "Get me chocolate milk!" And just like a servant, I do it. Well things are about to change. I can't let my kid grow up feeling like things are just handed to him all the time. I am going to change this behavior of his. That is why I am taking on this challenge with Have A New Kid By Friday. I fully intend to have a new kid by friday. I am about to read the "Tuesday" section of the book. I think this is when it's going to get interesting. I am going to have to take myself outside my comfort zone and I'll be taking Declan out of his too. I will blog about it tomorrow night. Let the experiment begin!