2.) Tell us about the last thing you complained about. How was the issue resolved?
My number one issue this summer has been complaining children. My goal from day one has been Preventative Complaint Care. Busy kids don’t have time to complain so I’ve been filling every day with fun things for them to do. My rookie move here was in believing we could get through the Summer with no complaining.
Unfortunately, my kids only require 30 seconds of idle time to squeeze in a complaint.
Yesterday mama lost it. The day was filled with one complaint after another. Kainoa sat in Laina’s seat. Maile was bored at Chucky Cheese, Kainoa wants a sucker for each hand, all of them are hungry but none of them are hungry for anything we have in our kitchen.
At lunch I pulled the “You don’t appreciate anything I do for you, would it kill you to say thank you every once in awhile!?!” card from my Mother’s Book of Lectures that I’ve heard a million times myself and after my 5 minute tirade about how ungrateful they are they stared at me and asked me to get them more milk.
“Thank you…” they said.
When Pat came home from work I complained, “My God Pat…all these kids do is complain and I’ll tell you what, this Summer has been really challenging for me with all the complaining going on. If I hear one more complaint I sweat to God I’m gonna…”
And then Maile was all, “Daddy…Mommy yelled at us today for no reason!”
I’m not sure what happened after that because everything went red and I actually ran straight through a wall.
What I do know, is that between my kids complaining about…well…everything and me complaining about the kids complaining…I’m pretty sure Pat is going to be the next person to run straight through a wall.
Now it’s your turn!
Choose a prompt, post it on your blog, and come back to add your name to the link list below. Be sure to sign up with the actual post URL and not just your basic blog URL (click on the title of your post for that URL). For good comment karma try to comment on the three blogs above your name!!
The Prompts:
1.) Recycle a favorite post from July of any year that you have been blogging.
2.) Tell us about the last thing you complained about. How was the issue resolved?
3.) If you could magically become any member of your family for just one day, who would you become? (inspired by writingfix.com)
4.) You’ve been offered a book deal! Now what are you going to write about?
5.) Describe your make believe vacation home…
Bonus Vlog Option:
6.) Have you been to a blog conference? Share why you would or would not be interested in going. If you’ve been…share something you learned from the experience. Would you go again?
Madeleine says
Oh god yes. I feel your pain, and I only have two kids. One of whom is only really beginning to talk. But the constant whinging from my eldest? Yep, I hear ya…
Gretchen says
Oh honey, I hear you! I just wrote a piece on Monday about this very same thing! I put so much effort into keeping my son busy and having fun and I swear all he does is whine about being bored. I totally lost it the other day and started to cry, just like my mother. It was ugly.
Ducky says
So far so good. Lil Duck is almost 4. She doesn’t complain about bring bored. Mostly because I only remove the duct tape at feeding times. I kid I kid! It’s been a fun summer so far :)
Jenn says
We are on Day Two of summer holidays (school let out on Tuesday, early this year because the teachers were given two extra in-service days) and I’ve already invited a friend of Pea’s over for a playdate while I sent Boo to another’s house.
Day two. Doesn’t bode well for the next six weeks….
Mine don’t complain about being bored (I got lazy with the bored jar and stopped after filling it with “dust” “vacuum” and “make mummy tea”) that made its point really quickly. Mine just bicker. About everything.
Kasey says
At least they said thank you for the milk :)
I feel your pain, mines only 3 and has been using the phrase “I’m bored” since she learned what it meant!
Jen says
I don’t know what it is about this summer but it has been really hard on us too. Especially where TV and video games are concerned. Maybe it’s the ages of the kids…
I took mine to an indoor play area yesterday and with in 20 minutes of being there, one asked, “Mom, can I play games on your phone?” I wanted to smack him, I didn’t, but come on… play children, play.
hollow tree ventures says
So frustrating! You should try my method – I keep the kids’ standards so low that yesterday they were excited to go to the orthodontist! Which means I don’t get a lot of complaining about boredom, but that’s really because they’re too busy bickering.
I pretty much lost it yesterday over having to repeat myself – I am SO sick and tired of saying the same things over and over. *That’s* what I’m going through the wall about.
Sorta Southern Single Mom says
That was me in Disney… The Girl wanted everything in sight and one day I turned to her and yelled, “The trip IS the gift??? It cost Mamma thousands of dollars to bring us here! You don’t NEED anything else!” She did not like me very much, but I’m not gonna lie, I felt better after that!
Mommy Boots says
I’ve only got one kid, and she’s only 2 1/2. She sure can whine. But she can’t really complain yet. I feel your frustration – I can’t even imagine what it’s like having three complaining!! I think you did well only to see red and run through a wall.
natteringnic says
“Mother’s Book of Lectures”…yep. Its neat how that one gets implanted into your brain as soon as the umbilical cord is cut. If only the same happened when you bought a Billy bookcase from IKEA.
Bridget @ Le. Rheims says
Kat, it’s like we’re simpatico. I say, next summer, we buy ourselves ear plugs and let them attempt to entertain themselves. It’s got to be cheaper and less frustrating that trying to keep them fully occupied every day of the vacation. I say this of course as I am about to round my 5 up, pick up some of my nephews and nieces, and head out to the free movies, to keep them from complaining that we didn’t do anything today.
Nicki G. The Blissful Wife says
You are never gonna win…yet- until they have kids- Then you get to laugh!! I don’t have kids yet, but I babysit my angelic nephews who I love dearly and they just love to complain and FIGHT with each other.
:( Keep your chin up, or run away for a bit!
Nicki G.
Arnebya says
My body’s impression is still in the wall. I just walk on through it now, no need to ever close it back up. Ugh, the complaints, the thanklessness, the refusal to eat leftovers (you’re about to be hungriER because that’s all there is and you are welcome to sit there and cry for something we don’t have, but don’t come asking me for some of my leftover pork chop when your stomach is touching your back from hunger). I get it. There really is no resolution, is there? We’ve taught them to say please and thank you, we’ve taught them how much we dislike/don’t want to hear complaints. Yet they continue. It’s like they’re not even listening. Womp womp womp.
Jennifer says
You are soooooo not alone. It really shouldn’t even be called summer. It should be called the time of complaints.
Kimberly says
Mine were complaining so hard yesterday. We didn’t take a vacation this summer because we bought Thing One a car to drive to school next year. We’ve stayed home because it’s friggin’ HOT.
They were bored…so I told them there were plenty of things to do: scrub the grout in the bathroom, peel the last of the wallpaper in the kitchen, pick up dog poop in the back yard.
Interestingly, they got quiet, went back to their rooms and I didn’t hear another peep out of them all day.
Want me to send you some dog poop?
Melissa B. says
I feel your pain. During my career as a Mom, I’ve run through my share of walls!
Going for the Gold
May says
I am picturing a transformation similar to The Incredible Hulk with your eyes glazing over in red!
Julie says
Bored at Chuck E Cheese?? Sounds like my niece, she’s bored even when she doesn’t know what bored is!!
Andrea says
That looks exhausting. Oh wait I’m doing the same. But I also add in some exercise so as to exhaust them as well. Ten times up the hill at the park!
Jennifer says
I get SO frustrated when my kids are unappreciative. We have had many, many discussions about that very topic.
Jen {at} take2mommy says
The same thing is going down here. But the complaining got so bad, I stopped responding. I just don’t acknowledge their complaints in any way (unless they are totally serious and legit). And the petty complaining has died down a bit due to me ignoring them. #win
Laurie Matherne says
Loved this post. I have no kids in the house, but about 100 in an after school program. We have school now in Central America. They do get bored easily. Yesterday we glued self portraits on foam frames. That lasted about 10 minutes then I had 100 crazed kids waiting for more fun and food.
adrienne says
Oh isn’t that the truth! They complain to us, and then we complain to our husband, and then the kids tattle on us to their dad. Poor guys! My kids tattle on my every singe day. For while I tried to defend myself by stooping the level of a five year old, at which point my husband vowed to never come home from work again. Now? I choose to not care if they rat me out for making them clean their rooms! So what if I abused them in the process, at least my husband comes home to a clean house…right?
Maggie S. says
Mostly I complain that my kids learned to complain from the master. Me.
Bruna says
The complaining is happening over here at my place too and I’ve shared that same Mommy lecture of ungratefulness with them many times.
Doesn’t phase them. I think the complaining is built in.
Where do they get it from? Certainly not me, I never complain :P
Rachel says
Totally can relate…especially with the feeling that what I say…lecture…whatever to them goes right over the tops of their heads!!
Jamie@SouthMainMuse says
The summer’s getting long at this point. Ours start school in three weeks. Part of me is sad but when they start making Christmas lists to fill the time — it’s time.
Imee says
I used to take care of my nieces and nephews when they were kids, and boy! my head is really spinning every time they’re in my house. Now that they’re grown ups, they seldom visit me and I miss having them in my house.
Lisa@All That and a Box of Rocks says
I was shopping in the local Goodwill store this week and witnessed a mom have a total come apart when her little boy said he had to pee. He was so sweet about it and she was so angry. I saw some folks watching it all with sideways glances and big eyes. Mom of five here, I just nodded to myself. I wanted to give her a hug.
Marta says
The gratitude thing kills me. I constantly feel like I need to shout “be grateful most people don’t have this!!! I didn’t have it!”
Just Jennifer says
Recycling a post is an excellent thing to do in the summer, so thanks for reminding me of that!
I’m totally with you on the complaining kids front. My son actually gets angry when he can’t find any friends to play with. Thankfully, my daughter isn’t complaining at me too much.
Randi says
I hear ya! My kids don’t necessarily complain but only because they can’t really put the words together. So they whine. I think I’d rather understand them better and hear their complaints than whines. LOL