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Dads & Dads-to-be
LokiFollower
member
How do you keep a three year old happy?
LokiFollower
member
My gf and I are watching my friend's three year old daughter for a week starting yesterday. She did fine yesterday but today she started crying and I don't know how to make her stop and my gf is spending time with her family until later today so she is no help to me
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Re: How do you keep a three year old happy?
No non-parent should ever be thrown into that situation. Three year old will win ever single time. You might as well have a big red target on your chest!! Even though you agreed to do it, the parents of this child KNEW EXACTLY what they were doing to you. Cruel, if you ask me.
3 year olds cannot be happy ever.....it is a rule of nature. I have a just turned 4 niece, and she is the worst.....really, the worst. And it started up at age three, and will last for another year.
I feel for you man, because you might not make it out alive and intact!! Television and candy are your best friends now. I would start that ASAP. Get her hooked on sugar so that when the parents come back, they will come back to a kid hopped up on sugar. They deserve it for what they just did to you.
I get what you are saying there, polooo, but the three year olds I see everyday at my son's school are ALWAYS testing and pushing the envelop that extra inch or two. It is very evident. I also think 3-4 year old girls are much better at pushing buttons then boys are. Boys don't really care about that stuff, but the girls at my son's school, sometimes you would think you are back in high school the way they walk around in their little cliques. These are 3-4 year old girls walking around with painted nails and the latest dolls....they can be BRUTAL!!
I think parenting has a lot to do with it, as we pick our battle based on what is important to us in teaching our children. My BIL is charged with discipline when it comes to my neice, and there are somethings he lets slide that I would never let slide. She is allowed to not eat all her dinner and still get desert. That has not, nor will it ever, happen in my house.
In this case though, 24/7 bribery is totally acceptable. Like I said, these parents knew EXACTLY what they were doing in this case. Heck, my son is just over 1, and I already know the things to warn people about with him. That list will only grow.
Yeah, the first time I saw it I was a little intimidated!! Like a Real Housewives episode or something.
Thomas and Friends comes on immediately upon our arrival home at the end of the day. Jake is occupied by his favorite show, and we can get dinner ready without him getting into too much trouble.
I also have Netflix on my phone, so we can just throw a show on there when we are out eating and he will be the best little boy in the world.
I cannot wait until he is old enough to play vids. We are going to have some long gaming sessions for sure!
Jake is slowly transitioning into Disney Channel cartoons. Watched Mickey this past weekend, and he loved Monsters INC and Despicable Me too. My neice is four and Disney Channel might as well be her best friend, and her parents worst nightmare. In the last year, between an all inclusive trip down to Disney World, and all the Disney stuff that they have bought for her, Disney has gotten at least 3 grand from them. Of course, when they were down there, my neice had to have breakfast with the princesses, and lunch with Jake and the pirates, so that was more money.
Jake and the Neverland Pirates is a great example of how they incorporate marketing into the storylines, so not only are parents buying action figures and dolls, but we are also buying all of the props that are incorporated into the storylines.
CH-CHING!!!
Thomas is great for his age. Not too much dialouge, and great effects and graphics in bright colors. He loves his trains!
Comforting your woman is a MUST HAVE skill, dude. All it really takes is a big, strong hug and a soft kiss. Women need that from us from time to time. There is an Everybody Loves Raymond episode that tackles that subject. Ray catches his wife having a cry, just to cry, and Ray freaks thinking that he did something wrong, not understanding that she just wanted a cry. Women are emotionally driven, dude, and their thought process is alien to us because of how we deal with life.
Sometimes, we have to be the comforter, and that can be pretty cool at times. I like taking care of my woman, knowing that my embrace makes her feel safe.
I think most guys have a hard time with the heavy emotional stuff. When my wife and I were dating, she had a moment where she was talking about her dad and recalling some painful stuff. I was so taken a back by it that I did the only thing I could think of. I offered her one of my starburst!
I never saw my dad comfort my mother, and my dad never really hugged and kissed me after I turned 6. I remember keeping myself from crying during little league or pee wee football games so my dad would not be disappointed in me. He never said Don't cry, but he never really encouraged me to show emotions. My mom was the giver of hugs and kisses, and I always cried in front of her when I got hurt or was sad.
I have come along way in that department since getting married. I actually find myself getting misty when I am at weddings now! And I hug and kiss my son all day long, and that will not stop when he turns 6. Having a baby softens a guy up, if he is an involved parent.