I'm losing it! My 6 year old twins simply won't listen.
We have the same routine every morning and we still fight to get out the door in time.
I've tried reward charts/pocket money. Praising good behavior.
If they misbehave or push the limits, they miss out on fun things. For example they missed out on going to a party over the weekend. Not the first time either.
If I say pack toys away or I'll put them in the bin, they say they don't care & will bin it themselves.
They don't have much screen time as that's a reward for them. They've been banned from watching tv (doesn't bother them).
They don't care about the wii and prefer being outside anyway.
I try to keep calm, but being so frustrated I end up losing it. They have each had a smack on the bum with a wooden spoon (don't judge & say I'm traumatising them. It's 1 quick smack after loads of warnings).
I've recently gone back to work, but this has been happening for longer. Probably feels like its worse as we're still adjusting.
Please some suggestions or hope that it improves. I hate feeling like a cracky/moody mum most of the time.
2 Replies
Firstly if they bin there toys, call there bluff! They will care when you wheel that wheelie bin out on to the kerb.
This can be a trying age. A friend who has triplets, gets them up one at a time so the kids are separated when getting ready. So one is eating breakfast while the other is getting ready. She finds keeping them on separate tasks stops them hanging up on her.
I could have written this!! Except my twins are seven :) its a constant struggle, people don't realise that twins are so happy not having anything as long as they have each other. I often say its like having your best friend over for a sleep over. Every damn day!
I've found with my two that separating them is what they hate most so I use that. If they're playing instead of getting dressed I make one of them come to the loungeroom to get dressed. If they're playing up too much at night one goes in to my bed to fall asleep. They have time out at separate ends of the house, facing the walls. As for packing toys away, I play their favourite song, direct them each to a different job- you can pick up all the cars and your brother can pack away all the books and let's see who can finish it first before the song finishes (they're quite competitive too!)
Good luck!! I know its like your own personal terror tag team but keep persisting :)