Document vs. Discipline

Being a mom is a job title that includes instruction and correction. (#duh)
It is not always easy. (#a-doi)
On occasion, it is difficult to maintain the calm demeanor necessary to effectively teach, as opposed to simply frighten and punish. (none of that was necessary)
#obs #Ithinkthatsshortforobviously #butImkindaold

There's a whole 'nother post I could write about how I'm that mom who thinks things are cool, on average, about 18 months to 2 years after they stopped actually being cool.  Hastags fit into this category. #Idigress

Document vs. Discipline is the hashtag I attach to the pictures of my kids that I post when I've caught them doing something that they shouldn't have been doing.  This is not to say that I do not discipline them, its just a comment on sequence.  What should I do first? 

Brownie mix with chocolate chips.  So good.

White out is hard to remove from sensitive skin.

I'm all out of Mermaid Green nail polish.

"Buddy?  Buddy will you please... come back over here?"

There are Russell-sized bite marks on my newborn's forehead.  Yep, now you see them.

What shall we do with this deliciously black dirt?  Eat it and roll in it- natch-ur-a-ly.

The baby is not supposed to have bedfellows.

nom nom nom nom...

Permanent acrylic paint in "Princess Pink"

I document first, and discipline after.

A friend of mine, Kathie, tells me stories about raising her boys while I do her hair.  She gives awesome advice, and I love her for it.  She told me about her 3 boys, all very close in age, who were always getting into shenanigans.  One day she came home from shopping with arms full of groceries, and found her boys in a huge pool of water on the kitchen floor, playing with their boats and having a great time.

She had a choice.  Do I make this about me?  Do I burden my young sons with what this will cost me in time and money to clean up and repair?  Do I throttle them for doing something that at least one of them knew better than to do?  Or do I laugh about how creative it is, take a picture, and have a positive memory to look back on?  So she took a picture.  And made them help her clean up every drop.

I may have trained Russell to "cheese" for these pictures.

Allowing myself to laugh at the things that my creative little menaces do when I'm not looking, allows me to break the momentum that anger needs to build all the way up.  Some of the stuff they do is stuff that frankly I would love to do- have you ever wanted to stick your hands in a bag of pancake mix?  So silky!  A bowl of brownie mix?  Slimy and sandy!  Climb on top of the fridge?  The view is great (and mom keeps treats up here)!

I have to explain, "I understand that (xxxx) was fun, and I can understand why you would want to do it, but do you see how it (xxxx)?  That's dangerous/messy and we will have to (xxxx) together, to fix it.  Now let's get the wash cloths/move the flour cannister/call 911 to take care of this mess."

I discipline, and we have consequences, but a camera puts a lens before your eyes that makes you see the situation in a different way.  Its pretty wonderful.

Thanks, Kathie.