Pls (gently) critique how I handled this (long)

21young

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 11:13 am

Let me reiterate that you sound like a wonderful mother, OP.

I will repeat that nothing else should be happening during bedtime, because you need to prevent the whole scenario. Yes, you davened mincha really quickly, but it was time when your attention was entirely away form the children, and they felt it. When you're cooking supper or changing a diaper you can still speak to them and they feel like you're tuned into them even though you're busy, which is not the case when davening. Personally, I try not to do anything that doesn't involve the children during supper/baths, so laundry is out. Everyone knows that during that time I don't answer phones, door, etc., my time is for my children. Yes, life happens, but it's not worth it to me to take the two minutes to answer the door and have my son get wild.

What to do when he said no? You reacted perfectly. I would calmly say, "We don't say no to a mommy." Pick him up, put him in time-out, turn on the timer. I calmly tell him, "When the timer rings you can come out." And then ignore. Or if you don't want to use a timer say, "Let me know when you want to come out and put away the laundry." Then walk away, get busy with something else, and ignore him.