Ella is the most stubborn child I've had. And my other two kids are 1)a stepchild and 2) a child with a mood disorder. So I KNOW stubborn. Ella beats them both.
I'll tell her to do something, and she acts like she never heard me. Brook jokes that all parental and authoritative voices speak at a frequency that Ella is deaf to. And it seems that way. Sigh.
So today I tried a trick I've used for YEARS, as a preschool teacher and later as a parent. I got the kids to play the "good listener game" with me. Its a modified version of Simon Says to demonstrate what it means to "listen" (IE. do as you are told) Ella completely ignored me. COMPLETELY. Like I wasn't even in the room. So, I gave Colin a candy for "winning" the game. And she lost it.
I gave her a few minutes to freak out, then I said "Ella, would you please get pick an outfit to wear today" (because, God forbid I pick an outfit for her, but she refuses to get dressed, so getting out of the house is an ordeal) And she said "I can't. I'm busy." And I said "That's too bad, because I know how much you wanted a candy, too, and I thought that if you did what I asked, I would give you a "good listener sticker", and if you get 3 stickers, that means you get a candy!"
Suddenly, she was picking and outfit, and putting it on. lol
THEN she put her shoes on the first time I asked BY HERSELF (another never-ending battle) THEN she came in the bathroom so I could brush her hair the first time I asked (ANOTHER never-ending battle)
So, in other words, we'd be good to go to the library right now..........except that now she's eating candy. Doh.
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