Knock wood, it seems like Char is starting to sleep better and longer. Still about an hour short of her previous norm, but she's not so cranky/overtired the last few days and that helps a LOT.
If i didn't mention it before, i'm now reading a book called "Unconditional Parenting", which is just blowing my mind. It's about rewards AND punishment, praise AND shame being equally bad, and not "withdrawing" love when a child misbehaves (i.e. withholding regular bedtime routine if a child misbehaves and calling it a "privilege" or even time outs being "love withdrawal"). i'm about halfway through and so far the book is about research proving why those things are bad, but he hasn't put any alternatives in yet. i can't wait until i get there! i'm sure i will be blogging about it a bit because it's seriously exciting.
At the same time, it's scary. It's scary because i was raised with love withdrawals (i.e. silent treatments and lectures) and punishments (i.e. groundings, shame, and spankings), and most of the parenting books i've read and what i've been trying to put into practice involve positive discipline, natural/logical consequences, and rewards. In other words, the book so far attacks not just what i've known is the type of parenting i DON'T want to do, but also the type of parenting i've been striving toward.
Of course, i may not agree with the book, and i may not change my parenting style or try to comingle to two styles. But it sure is making me think. And that, alone, is pretty scary!
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