Spit Happens

Yeah, that's right, spit. And not the sweet little spit up from the baby brother either.

You know, there was a time not too long ago that I looked at my little one and thought, "She is just so sweet. What an angel." and things of that sort. Truthfully, I probably gave myself a pat on the back at the time...I mean, MY daughter had never had a biting problem like some of the kids in preschool, she didn't talk back often, and almost always listened to what I said.

Then came yesterday. I've heard it said that every parent has at least one moment in the life of their child when they feel like the worst parent in the world. I guess I just didn't expect mine to come so early in my child's life....

So yeah, let me start by saying that Peanut has had a lot going on lately. As summer is coming to a close, school and new activities are starting and now she has a new baby brother plus B is staying with us...and I do believe that is a lot for a little girl to take in, compounded by the fact that she got very little sleep the night before...so I see where this may have come from. That said, I am not going to make excuses for the scene she created when she SPIT in a little boy's face yesterday.

You heard me right. My angel - my princess, my little sweetheart....spit in someone's face at soccer practice last night.

When we got to practice, Paris was a little wound up. I sent her on the field and watched as she paid more attention to the little girl in front of her than to the coach. She goofed around despite my shouts of "listen!" and "play the game!". I just had this feeling that things were not going in a good direction. Then came the water break where she and the other girl chased each other around. But worse, then IT happened. I watched as she tried to get the attention of an older, much larger boy. When he didn't give it to her, she spit. I don't think she did it out of anger or necessarily intended to harm him, but nevertheless, she spit. In his face. You can imagine how I reacted. Or maybe you can't actually because I wasn't quite sure myself how to react. The worst part? She was offended because the boy hit her after she spit on him. Yeah, you read that correctly. The little boy socked her in the stomach (can you blame him really?) and then she proceeded to throw a HUGE tantrum. So there I am with a field full of shocked parents watching me try to manage this kid while her little brother screamed "feed me" cries from the stroller. Needless to say, that was the end of soccer practice for her.

And I can assure you, that will be the LAST time she spits. It was however the first time she got grounded. Clearly the timeout/spanking thing wasn't going to teach her anything in this situation. So, Rico and I decided it was time for an alternative. And after talking to her about it, we decided to take away tv, computer & playing with her friends for 2 days. (its a little like I'm grounded too) :) As Rico is explaining to her that she is going to lose these priviledges, she got very sad and started to cry. She finally looked at him and said "Do I even get to eat breakfast?" to which he replied "Yes honey........this time".