The child who hits your child.
It is hard to be that parent. I definitely judged those parents before I became one of them.
But this isn't about me.
It's about Jude.
He hits.
Frequently.
He hits Noah.
He hits other children - children we know, children we don't know.
He throws toys in frustration.
At people's heads.
He hits the tv screen, the computer, the table.
He hits Jamie - but it often becomes a game and so I'm not sure what to do about that.
Now don't get me wrong, he's not some terror-child on the rampage to destroy and hurt others.
But when he's frustrated, look out.
I feel exhausted and weary from this battle.
I feel like this has been going on for a really long time (although it can't be more than a month or two...more maybe?).
So I decided to do what any Mom with internet would do,
Google it.
And I came across a few helpful articles, and a few unhelpful articles and one very anger-inducing article.
I think I need to keep doing what I'm doing (grabbing his hand away from whoever/whatever he is hitting or about to hit and say, "We don't hit, Jude."), increase my consistency (that is, really hone in on this one area of disobedience with Jude) and be more diligent to remove him from the situation in which he is hitting.
One distinct thing I've noticed is that he really does not want to look in my eyes when I'm telling him not to hit. He'll look away, whine, cry, wriggle and scream but he does not want to look in my eyes which really tells me that he's going to continue to challenge me in the area of submission and obedience.
For a child to take the step to look into their parents eyes requires a certain amount of submission.
And Jude does not even seem willing to give me that.
So we'll see where this goes.
In the meantime, I have clarity in how I need to pray for Jude.
