For some reason, God only knows why, Rachel is 7 going on 17 …..  This is a problem.  It all started so innocently, and I made excuses.  Most of the time it was end of the day whining.  “She’s tired” was my common explanation for this, and I am sure that she was exhausted.  Sometimes just thinking of her various activities makes my head spin.  The whining started a long time ago, and like I said, it was part of the end of day routine.

Then it hit – total in your face disrespect!  I mean really – Rachel had always been hyper and strong willed, but this was like talking to a 14 year old girl during her “monthly visit”!  Ugh!  I had tried immediately correcting her, and it usually turned ugly and more embarrassing for me than her.  I am sure it was like watching a video on how not to parent the strong willed child.

After Sarah was born, I had resolved that this would not continue.  I am here to tell you that she might be even more stubborn than me!  Bryan and I had resolved to tame this behavior by taking away all of her access and use of anything that used electricity and that seemed to work, until one day it didn’t…

Last week during Rachel’s first violin lesson (that will be detailed in an upcoming blog…), she told the teacher that it was “Mommy’s fault” that she was tired!  Such an awesome, awesome parenting moment.  The teacher looked like she had been smacked in the face.  She spent the next 10 minutes talking to Rachel about respect and especially respecting your mother.  While it was humiliating to yet again see my daughter get in trouble for something, it was an eye opener for me.  The battle was far from over!    Bryan and I just shake our heads.  Where did we go wrong?  Is she going to be one of those awful kids you see in the mall screaming at her mom to buy her a special kind of blue jeans?

One of Rachel’s heartwarming expressions

So this week, the magic word has been RESPECT!  I reminded Rachel what the violin teacher said, and how awful that was.  Somehow that resonates with her more than me telling her over and over how bad it is to talk back or taking away all of her toys and entertainment.  The power of an old school music teacher is magical!

Maybe one of Rachel’s first violin tunes can be “RESPECT”!  Ha!