Geetle -vs- the world has been gradually gaining momentum. She is a very emotional and very vocal girl who apparently is not afraid of losing her allowance…until she actually loses it.
Shoes, hair style, TV time, and dinner choices have brought out the big guns several times over the last couple weeks. Enough that BAGM and I had a long talk about it last night after we put the kids to bed. We’re trying to find the proper balance between letting her state her opinion and telling her that at same point she has to shut up. BAGM normally ends up being the good cop and I’m normally the bad cop. BAGM is much more patient than I am.
We made a few decisions about directions we plan on heading with Geetle and BAGM pointed out that Geetle needs to win some battles.
Which is true.
With a two year old sister and a brother with autism, she frequently gets stuck being the kid who can handle her emotions and help us in a pinch which is too much to ask of a six year old. It puts her in weird positions where she has trouble remembering that she’s just a kid. Or maybe she’s fighting to have more chances to be just a kid.
Or something along those lines.
One of Geetle’s frequent complaints is neither of us can cook worth a crap. She’s of the opinion that anything not macaroni, spaghetti (without sauce), pancakes, salmon or oatmeal should be classified as dog food. BAGM and I are just a little too creative sometimes.
So at the end of the discussion, we decided to let Geetle pick out dinner tonight. She frequently asks to be in charge of it but it is normally when she is busy complaining about what we cooked. We are going to preemptively strike and put her in charge of it which will include a trip to the store to buy any ingredients we need. Then, depending on what she chooses, we’re going to let her cook it.
She will win a battle. She will have a great night. She will get to have fun being a kid…who gets to make big decisions.
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I think that’s a great idea! She will have fun choosing and cooking, but maybe will also gain some realization of how much work goes in to fixing a meal. I have a bunch of kid-friendly(ish-not terribly easy, but things that still require real work ) recipes if you’re interested. I love cooking with kids because a) everyone can do SOMETHING, b) teaches several early childhood objectives (sequencing, measuring, cause and effect…) all at one time, and c) it takes up a lot of time, which is usually whine-free because everyone is occupied.
What a fantastic idea! I’m so glad that you two know what an amazing girl she is! I’m constantly amazed with how well she handles sticky situations with Pookie and Giggles. She does need to have a chance to spread her wings and have a little good old fashioned fun, on her terms. That’s just who she is. Reminds me of someone I know! ; ) Love you all and am so proud to have a brother and sister-in-law that are such caring parents.