Fun Ruiner #1

So now it starts getting tricky. Rules. I know Charlotte's ready for them because she's looking for boundaries. And buddy, we're giving them to her. Yay us, right?

My baby bible, 'Touchpoints' by Brazelton, stresses not to say "no" ALL THE TIME. Only say "no" to the important, big deal, baby-is-about-to-get-hurt things, that way they'll know when you say "no" it's a boundary and mommy/daddy know best but you can go, Charlotte, and do that other mischievous thing of yours, open up the bottom drawer of you dresser and pull out all the clothes..not the middle drawer or the top drawer. It's alright, Charlotte, you can go, dear, and pull yourself up by Moses halter, but not his ears.

So, when she starts to do a "no-no" I warn her twice, re-direct her and if she does it a third time (RARELY happens but buddy she'll stare at me hard and REALLY think about it and then she proceeds to do the acceptable thing but acts as if that's what she wanted to do anyway all along(whoops tangent)) I put her in time out for 20 seconds. Time out is in her playpen.

But when is it a 'no no' and when is it okay? That's tricky. Several weeks ago we were at Homegoods and she stood up and dove towards a giant polar bear in the kid section while I was scouting out a good deal...you know what makes that even worse is that I bought the bear. Then at Wal-Mart and she started pulling herself up in the seat of her buggy AGAIN so I put her in the big, grocery part of the buggy and she was perfectly happy, sitting down, waving, playing with the groceries. Thus it begins.

Now, this is where she rides. Except she's gone from sitting down to standing up. Kind of reminds me from that scene in Teen Wolf where Michael J. Fox is surfing on top of his van going down the street to the beach boys song, ''Surfing USA'. Looks a little dangerous but I don't want to be a fun ruiner. Well, we're at Toys R Us as a family on Sunday and I'm nagging Adam to stand at the front of the bugggy with Charlotte as she's surfing down the aisle and he's telling me to chill out when I notice, for the first time (because Charlotte's rear end is normally sitting on it, the seat of the buggy where the rules are posted. Clear as day, a circle around the acceptable way of traveling in the buggy (child sitting, buckled, in the front of the buggy) and then the unacceptable way of cruising, every other way, including the method in which my child was currently cruising.

Parenting is hard. Just when you think you can relax and rely on common sense, something like this happens.

My common sense was trying to warm me though...every time she was cruising in the buggy (unacceptably) the Teen Wolf surfing scene popped into my head?

So, we've got disciplining at home but out in public? Oh God, I'm so not ready for this!