Tumbling temper-tantrums...

As I have previously asserted: my baby girl is, well, spirited. And this leads to much "correction" and discord, especially since entering the "terrible twos" (they didn't come up with the slogan for nothin'). We have multiple mini-tantrums a day. I call them mini as I have heard and seen some horror stories and while she stomps her feet and whines, they're somewhat manageable.

We assumed that perhaps a little releasing of energy would do her good, not to mention she could do a somersault at 1 1/2 so we thought we'd try gymnastics (well, "tumbling" at this age). The local Gymnastics World offers a free class so we took her and, well, let's say I'm not certain it was the best thing...for anyone involved. It made me realize that while we are seeing improvement at home with her behavior, public outings are still a challenge. As an only child that isn't in daycare, she still has difficulty with sharing, taking turns, etc. That said, during the class, while the girls all waited behind one another at various "stations", Maddie ran amok. She cut line, she whined, she stomped, she ran, she cried...it was a real wake up call. I certainly expected a little disobedience from her excitement but was literally unable to reel her in. She was beyond defiant. I think she had fun and enjoyed the class but we have some work to do before we return.

I hope we can work on these things and maybe this sort of thing is exactly what she needs. We hope to sign her up soon but will take a little time to be more consistent and vigilant about learning what discipline tools work best for her!