At our wit's end

For seven years Lincoln and I have prided ourselves on the successful parenting of Hannah. She has been a fairly easy child despite her recent insistence on dressing herself and wearing knee high socks with capri pants. She is fairly easy to discipline because she hates to disappoint us. While she has certainly gotten into trouble over the years for the most part all we have to do is tell her "Hannah, you've really disappointed us" and she never does it again.

Jake is another story. Nothing gets through to this kid and right now he is really pushing the limits. We are trying to potty train him and he's not handling it very well. Jake doesn't like change. Every spring it's a battle to get him into sandals and out of his boots. In the fall it's a battle to get him out of his sandals and into his boots. Same goes with winter coats vs. lighter jackets. Buy him a new pair of shoes and it's a nightmare getting him to wear them but once you do, they are his absolute favorites and if you try to buy him a new pair he will pitch a fit. Maybe that's why this potty training thing isn't going so well. It's a big change.

This past week has been the worst. Three days a week he goes to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Apparently Jake got so bad by Wednesday that he was pitching a fit every time Grandma asked him to try and go potty. Every time she'd ask him he'd sit down and pee or poop in his pants. After that Lincoln and I decided we'd try a different approach and do less disciplining about accidents and more of the "coddling" style parenting. Yesterday was a good day. He stayed dry pretty much all day (until an unavoidable accident at the playground where there was no bathroom) and he didn't pitch any fits. I thought the new softer approach to parenting might be working.

And then today happened. Today he went to daycare and got sent home with a note that not only had he pushed a kid off the slide, he slapped another kid across the face. WHAT? Or as the note said, "Jacob had a very difficult day today. He was very aggressive with his friends."

Obviously we've been spoiled by Hannah. Lincoln and I don't know what to do. We've tried time-outs. We've tried taking away his favorite things. We've tried spanking. Nothing seems to get through to this kid. I know we'll get through this. We just have to figure out the best path through, over, under, or around this obstacle.

Either way, I am totally saving this note from school and putting it in his scrapbook. If he grows up to be some sweet, sensitive man we can say "look how you were as a kid". If he grows up to be a convict we can enter it into evidence during his first trial.