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Photo Details: Dress c/o Shabby Apple | Shoes c/o RubyClaire Boutique | Blake’s Dress: June & January | Moccs c/o Freshly Picked | Bow c/o Zozu Baby

Well, this has been my life lately. Literally, Blake is SO into screaming right now and I know it’s only going to get worse because she’s one y’all, she’s only one and she already has this much sassiness! I mean, she didn’t get it from me 😉 Fine, maybe she did. I’ll tell you though, two sassy gals together don’t mix well and it just creates for frustration, tears and a really bad headache. Plus, how in the world do you teach a one year old to stop screaming in public? Or to use their words? They don’t even friggin’ know what I’m talking about, let alone how to correct the problem so they get what they want. So…I’ll share the few tips and tricks I’ve learned. They’re not perfect, but we’re slowly getting there and she’s slowly learning that screaming ain’t okay for anyone.

Tip #1: Patience is a virtue. Ready to karate chop me in the throat yet? I know, patience? That’s hilarious. That’s the last thing I want to have when I’m in the middle of the grocery store and my toddler is throwing everything out of the cart, screaming and trying to jump out. In fact, it is the last thing I have. The little scenario I just shared, true story and guys..I looked like a crazy Mom. I looked at her so stern and yelled “BLAKE, NO!” Then she proceeded to stick out her bottom lip, tears welled up in her eyes and it was the saddest face I have ever seen her make. So obviously that entire “no” thing just backfired because I picked her up, apologized to her and then held her the entire rest of the grocery store trip. That obviously went according to plan. 😉 So fast forward, the next screaming fit. This time I looked at her pointed my finger and semi nicely, but stern enough said “no”, then I directed her to something else. Guess what? It worked! I was actually surprised myself and ready to go to battle, but she took the toy I handed her, forgot all about what she was screaming with and then we moved on. Now, does that mean she didn’t scream again five minutes later? Nope, she did, but it’s progress and it saved my sanity.

Tip #2: Baby sign language. This has honestly been our biggest saving grace and the reason why is because she can communicate with me. Rather than being pissed that she’s not getting her way or whatever she wants, she can sign “Milk” or “Eat” or whatever she wants in that moment. Sometimes, she doesn’t know the proper sign, which we are trying to teach her as we go along, but she knows to point. So she can point to the thing she wants and rather than cry, tell me that she wants it. Now, if she’s asking to play with the glass jars on the shelf, eh..sorry kid, I love you but you ain’t gettin’ those.

Tip #3: Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to walk away. There are times when she absolutely wants nothing, she doesn’t want to be held, she doesn’t want the toy, nothing is “right”. Or there are other times when she just wants to play with the car keys, but that’s not an option–so she has a meltdown. It’s going to happen. There will be times when you just can’t control it, it’s fine, but rather than losing your sanity (because hours of meltdowns will do that to you), ask for help! If it’s just you all day, then when your husband gets home from work simply say, “Honey, I need 10 minutes please. I just need to go on a walk for 10.” It’s as easy as that and those 10 minutes will be friggin’ life changing.

Tip #4: Accept what’s out of your control. This goes with tip number 4, you’re going to have times that you just can’t get them to calm down. Just like you have bad days, our little ones do too! Whether it’s lack of sleep, a cold, just grumpiness, whatever–it’s bound to happen. Just roll with it and pick your battles. If they want to shred up all the paper stuffing in your new shoes, so be it! That’s why there’s this fabulous thing called a vacuum. Quite honestly on days like those, I just let Blake be a kid and I don’t care. Obviously I keep her safe, but if she wants to pull everything out of the cupboards or shred up paper, have at it. I’ll clean it up later and soak in the memories.

Tip #5: Quit being so worried about everything. I think honestly we get wrapped up in a certain “routine” or parenting style that we forget to just let them have fun sometimes. Don’t be afraid to let loose somedays and break the “norm”. It’s going to be okay and you can clean the house later. 😉

What are your parenting tips and tricks?! Help a Mama out and tell me in the comments below.

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