I feel defeated.

I have no advice but would love to hear what other moms say. I am feeling the same, just brushing teeth is a full on fight. I either have to yell and force or pretend I'm sad so him to feel sorry for me. I know this isnt the right way to do this but it's so dang hard.

Ladies before I say anything YOU MOMS ROCK!! The fact that you’re feeling guilty just shows how much you love your kiddos! You’re doing YOUR VERY BEST! I’m no expert but I can tell you I have those days (more than I liked to) where the time out chair is not enough! What’s been working for me is putting my hand on his chest and asking him to breathe. He stops every time but note there are times he jumps right back in again to the meltdowns but breathing gives us BOTH a break and we connect. Also I’ve been reading a lot on “love”, just love during this low points!

With tooth brushing I watched a class once where the therapist said don’t fight it just let the child know that his choice of not brushing means he will not be having any sweets or favorite sugary foods because those foods cause bacterias in your mouth if we don’t brush our teeth and take care of our mouth. She mentioned “punishing” but with reasonable consequences. It works sometimes it’s constant work!! I have a baby shark toothbrush and have played brushing videos on YouTube to help.

My kiddo is not potty trained and will be 3 in December. He hates diaper changes and refuses to tell me when he’s gotta go potty. Cleaning up toys is a mission haha! Eating! I work from home while caring for him! He hits! He breaks everything! Ladies it’s OK! We’re all learning as we go but it’s nice to have this space to vent so thanks for creating that for me

Thank you Diana! I will try the breathing and the brushing activities. I have been thinking of getting an new singing toothbrush. I tried playing a brushing song but he wanted to keep watching my phone and im like nope it's bedtime buddy! Sarah, Diana is right. We rock! This. Is. Hard. No one said kids were easy peasy and they will test our patience, but it's their way of learning how to navigate the world. And even tho we feel guilty, they still love us more than anything. Just tonight my son wanted to snuggle for 2 more minutes. I caved and said ok. I got him up and he said "I love you mommy" This was after the shower fiasco and the yelling. They know how much we love them even with all the craziness

You can try making things that are tough a game and taking a more playful approach! For instance, my son loves trains right now so sometimes he refuses to pick something up that he threw on the ground. So sometimes I will pretend to be a conductor and he is the train that has the job of delivering the freight to its destination aka the garbage 😂. Eventually, he gives into the fun and does it and then I will say something like “you did it!” But yes, I also have those days where being angry just feels like the only alternative so don’t feel alone!

I couldn’t do the gentle parenting. I count to 5 and if they don’t listen I spank them. That’s just me and all my 4 kids are well mannered. I also don’t reward them if they don’t want to do when I tell them to do something

I have been struggling with my daughter it’s so incredibly hard she has ADHD and she has a hard time focusing on anything. Absolutely no impulse control at all we try everything like getting on her level and talking softly bc I read if you talk softly when they act up and expect you to yell they will listen in shock bc it’s not the response they thought they were getting. We also try direct eye contact to calm her long enough to take in information. We try time out but I’m a hot head so there a time i just loose my cool and start yelling or she gets a spanking but like I try so incredibly hard to be patient with her it’s just so hard! Your doing amazing ❤️