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Parenting
Discipline and staying home or working
This is a repeat from the working board:
Lately our 3.5 year old has been really whiney and bad. Not listening to us, throwing tantrums, hitting us, talking back, whining whining, whining. His 1.5 yr old brother is picking up on all of this too. We use time out, we acknowledge his feelings, we're reading parenting books etc...but i can't help but to think that if I were home with him and spending more time with him I could be doing more of the disciplining and help him grow up to be a good kid while he is still "home" and not in real school. The boys are only around us on the weekends and 3 or 4 hours at night after every work day. Is that enough? He's constantly telling me he doesn't want to go to school even though i know he has a good time there. I just think he gets so tired of being "good" at school so he comes home and has his meltdowns with us.
We were away with family all weekend and even then we had a hard time controlling his emotions and tantrums. I felt like everyone was thinking, what horrible kids we have and how we need to discipline them more. But how do i do that when they aren't even with us the majority of the time?
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Re: Discipline and staying home or working
I stay home and my 3.5 and 2 yr old act like this.
It is the age. I thought it was that I wasn't doing enough or that they were bored and it isn't.
We are doing something most of the day as well as having someone come into my home and help out with them so that they don't have to spend all day with me.
It is all very frustrating. I have actually thought of going back to work because 60% of the week I feel like I am not cut out to SAH.
My kids (DS 3.5 & DD 1.5) are in daycare & I feel like this quite a bit about DS. I am often troubled by his behavior & how I think others think about it (does that make sense). But DH & posts like this (and reading parenting books) help me realize that it's the age. They are testing their boundries. They would do it if they were at home 100% or at daycare.
I think we always question our decisions when things aren't going the way we hoped. You need to decide what is right for you, but the fact that you are even questioning yourself tells me that you are a great mom who only wants to do what is best for your DS.
Just looking at it logically: your son is good at school but not at home, so you want to take him out of school and stay home with him? It doesn't make sense when you look at it like that.
His behavior doesn't sound too far off from a typical 3 year old. 3 is not a very fun age. I would try talking to his teachers at school and see what discipline methods they use there. It might be a good start. I think having him school would be better for him. It sounds like it might cause more stress for both of you of you were together 24 hours a day. Also. being around other kids his own age gives him opportunities for peer-development and fostering independence.
Good luck.