Saturday, November 12, 2011
NaBloPoMo Day 12: Training Kids is Like Training Dogs
Those were not my words, by the way!
Before I get a million hate letters, listen to what I have to say. A wise and experienced father recently told me that he has learned a lot about raising grandchildren from Cesar Millan. Yes, from Mr. The Dog Whisperer himself.
The whole conversation started with me coming in to pick up my toddler after a day of teaching.
Me: Hi, Honey! Were you a good girl for Grampy? Did you have fun at Grampy's and Lola's house?
Toddler: (happy to see me) Mama! Mama! Mama!
Grampy: Of course she had fun. She's a good girl.
Just as he said that, Little One started whining and crying...and pawing at my pants. Apparently, she's fine when I'm away, but when she sees me, she acts up.
Grampy: (snapping his fingers abruptly) Pssssssssssst!
Little One looked up in shock and stopped her whining.
Grampy: See? I learned that from the Dog Whisperer.
Me: Dad! She's a toddler. She's not a dog!
Grampy: But, did you see how effective that was? You only need to do that and she stops. I learned a lot about disciplining children from The Dog Whisperer. It's the same thing, really.
Just yell "AHHH!" really abruptly and they stop in their tracks. It works. See? You can't reason with a kid when they're in the throes of frustration.
Me: Ummmm...I don't know about that.
Grampy: Look. Kids throw tantrums usually when they're either tired or hungry. If you can prevent that from happening by taking care of those needs, you can avoid a tantrum from happening. Just like dogs. If you can help avoid the source of stress, then you're halfway there. Keep a step ahead. Assess the situation and deal accordingly.
Grampy: Look at your method. You talk too much. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. You negotiate too much. You try to reason too much. Too much explaining. It's too many words. Too much talking.
Fair enough.
*Note: This is post was meant as a humorous look at parenting. If you get offended, realize this is all in jest.
Before I get a million hate letters, listen to what I have to say. A wise and experienced father recently told me that he has learned a lot about raising grandchildren from Cesar Millan. Yes, from Mr. The Dog Whisperer himself.
Me: Hi, Honey! Were you a good girl for Grampy? Did you have fun at Grampy's and Lola's house?
Toddler: (happy to see me) Mama! Mama! Mama!
Grampy: Of course she had fun. She's a good girl.
Just as he said that, Little One started whining and crying...and pawing at my pants. Apparently, she's fine when I'm away, but when she sees me, she acts up.
Grampy: (snapping his fingers abruptly) Pssssssssssst!
Little One looked up in shock and stopped her whining.
Grampy: See? I learned that from the Dog Whisperer.
Me: Dad! She's a toddler. She's not a dog!
Grampy: But, did you see how effective that was? You only need to do that and she stops. I learned a lot about disciplining children from The Dog Whisperer. It's the same thing, really.
Just yell "AHHH!" really abruptly and they stop in their tracks. It works. See? You can't reason with a kid when they're in the throes of frustration.
Me: Ummmm...I don't know about that.
Grampy: Look. Kids throw tantrums usually when they're either tired or hungry. If you can prevent that from happening by taking care of those needs, you can avoid a tantrum from happening. Just like dogs. If you can help avoid the source of stress, then you're halfway there. Keep a step ahead. Assess the situation and deal accordingly.
Grampy: Look at your method. You talk too much. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. You negotiate too much. You try to reason too much. Too much explaining. It's too many words. Too much talking.
Fair enough.
*Note: This is post was meant as a humorous look at parenting. If you get offended, realize this is all in jest.
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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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7 comments:
Haha...there is quite a bit of truth in this humorous parenting post. I have heard before that you shouldn't try to reason with a toddler while he/she is in the throes of a tantrum. They can't process words, all they are trying to deal with are their overpowering emotions. If you can't head off the tantrum then you have to get their attentin to break the cycle.
Easier said than done...in my experience. My kid has a one track mind; she'll get distracted, but once she recovers from her distraction she goes right back to the previous issue. lol
It was funny, but yeah, my mom was the parenting PRO, and she said I over talked things with Maya. Not that no talking is the answer, but little kids just aren't able (or truly interested) in long explanations. Avoid meltdowns if you can (food and sleep), and learn tricks when you can.
BTW, not a big fan of Caesar. I think his understanding of dogs is flawed. Then again, I've only read about his show, never watched it, so I honestly don't know what I'm talking about.
Hey, I agree with Grampy. Only I used what I learned from taking care of kids to take care of dogs. Needless to say I did a much better job with the dogs.
I've heard that from people who train helper dogs, J. They said his method works more for him, but especially women and people who don't buy into the alpha dog thing have to use different methods.
CK:
LOL! Dad again referred to the Dog Whisperer when he said children are taught best by repetition and example. He said parents can learn a lot from the Dog Whisperer :)
J:
Yes, your mom had it right ;) Smart woman!
I've heard the same thing of Caesar. However, the shows I have managed to catch, he seems to do an amazing job. Then again, how much of stuff is edited out for TV? I don't know. Still, he's got some interesting theories that I have applied to my own dog.
jMo:
LOL! I miss your comments! We need to catch up. Big time! How you doin'?