Have a New Kid by Friday - Dr Kevin Leman [2]
The Top Ten Countdown to Having a New Kid by Friday
Notes
Index of A to Z Topics
About Dr. Kevin Leman
Resources by Dr. Kevin Leman
Acknowledgments
To my editor, Ramona Cramer Tucker: It’s been a tough year for you, and I want you to know how much I appreciate your ability to hang in there and get the job done in such a professional manner. My heartfelt thanks for your invaluable contribution.
To the other woman in my life, my Revell editor, Lonnie Hull DuPont: I love the secure feeling as an author that you, Mama Bear, have your ever-watchful eye on this carefree cub and keep him in line.
Introduction
They’re Unionized . . . and Growing Stronger
Your kids have a game plan to drive you bonkers . . . but you don’t have to let them call the shots.
I’ve got news for you. Since the beginning of time, kids have been unionized, and they’ve got a game plan to drive you bonkers. Don’t believe it?
Take a look around. You tell me what you see in malls, stores, restaurants, and even your own living room.
What about the toddler who cries until she wears her mother down and gets to go not only once but three times on the carousel?
The teenager who yells, “Bleep you!” at his dad and stalks off?
The dad who allows his overweight 12-year-old to fill the grocery cart with Twinkies, Oreos, Coke, and Salerno Butter Cookies, then simply shrugs when the boy downs two packs of Twinkies as they stand in the checkout line?
The 7-year-old who gives his mom the “I dare you to do anything about it here” steely glare as he pushes the broccoli off his plate and watches it fall to the floor at the restaurant?
The 16-year-old who flips off her dad for not giving her money for a movie, then demands the car keys for the evening?
The 14-year-old dressed in all black who has “attitude” written all over her and gives every sign of going the wrong direction?
The 3-year-old who spends his day screaming, to make sure his parents appease his every whim?
It all goes to show that in today’s society, children even shorter than a yardstick are calling the shots. They’re part of the entitlement group—they expect anything and everything good to come their way, with no work on their part, just because they exist. In their eyes, the world owes them—and owes them big time. Some hedonistic little suckers of the ankle-biter battalion have even graduated to emeritus status and are holding down the hormone group division. Then there are the already-adult children who return home to your cozy little nest and stay and stay and stay. . . .
You know all about that too. If you picked up this book, you did so for a reason. Have you just about had it? Do you want to see some things—or a lot of things—change in your house? It isn’t always the big things that wear you down. It’s the constant battles with attitudes and behaviors like eye rolling, talking back, fighting with siblings, giving the “silent treatment,” and slamming doors. It’s the statements like, “You can’t make me do it!” and “I hate you!” flung into your face as your child retreats once again to his bedroom. It’s the exhaustion and stress of dealing with children who start swinging from the minute they get up.
Maybe your child’s behavior has embarrassed you (you could have done without your son’s all-out tantrum in the mall or your daughter’s belly button and nose rings, which she revealed for the first time when you had a business associate over for dinner), and you know it’s time to do something. Maybe you’ve been held hostage from certain activities because of your children’s actions (“Well, honey, I don’t know if we should go out to dinner with the Olsons; you know how the kids get”). Or maybe you’re seeing active signs of disrespect and rebellion, and you’re worried about where your child is headed next.
I’ll be blunt. You’ve got a big job to do and a short window