Not too long ago I shared the step by step account of a full-on Sugarplum melt down, luckily those types of moments don’t happen very often. Sugarplum is a superbly stubborn and strong-willed child and as such, our days usually go like this:
Our first full day of spring break, I suggested to the girls that we go out for lunch and stop by the store for groceries for dinner. I go to get dressed (yes, Doodle and I were still in our pajamas at lunch time) and instruct the girls to put their shoes on and find their water cups.
I walk by the laundry room where shoes are kept on the way to Doodle’s room after getting myself ready. I see Sugarplum sitting on the floor with her rainboots on and water cup next to her. I see Honeybun struggling to put on her hightop sequined sneakers and ask her if she can walk all the way in those. And so it begins:
“I don’t want to walk, I’m too tired!”
“Ok, you can ride in the buggy.”
“I want to take the car!”
“It’s a nice day, it’s not far and we don’t need the car.”
“I want to take the car!”
“We’re not taking the car”
“I don’t want this cup!”
By this point I’m done getting Doodle ready. I grab my water bottle and fill it up. I get Sugarplum’s cup and go to fill it up. Realizing it’s dirty, I put it in the sink and get a clean cup for each of the girls. I hand Honeybun her cup and she waits nicely by the door. I try to hand Sugarplum her cup and it continues:
“Your other cup was dirty.”
“I want a cup like Honeybun’s!”
“That is the cup I made you.”
“I don’t want this cup!”
“Ok, then Doodle can drink from that cup.”
“I don’t want him to have it!”
“Then take it.”
She takes the cup and walks to the door. I start to set the alarm when I notice the girls are looking a little raggedy. I ask them to go get their hairbrushes. Honeybun quickly runs off to get hers.
“I don’t want to get my brush!”
“Honeybun, can you bring Sugarplum’s also please?”
Honeybun returns with both brushes and brushes her own hair while I brush Sugarplum’s hair.
“I don’t want you to brush my hair!”
“We can’t go until everyone’s hair is brushed.”
“I don’t want to!”
Sugarplum pushes her head against the dryer. I continue to brush as best I can.
“I brushed my hair and put it up. Honeybun has brushed her hair and when I’m done with yours I’ll brush Doodle’s too. Everyone needs their hair brushed before we can leave.”
I finish brushing, do Doodle’s hair and it starts again:
“I don’t want to walk, it’s too far!”
“Then you can ride in the buggy.”
“I want to take the car!”
“We’re not taking the car.”
“NOOO!”
“We cannot leave the house until you have control of yourself.”
“I want to take the car!”
“Honeybun, I guess we can’t go to lunch. Let’s go find something to eat here.”
“I don’t want to go! I want to stay home!”
By this point Honeybun and I are at the fridge. Honeybun chooses leftover pasta.
“I don’t want pasta! I want to GO!”
“Then get control of yourself.”
“NOOO!”
“Honeybun, what do you want with your pasta.”
“I don’t want to stay here!”
“We can’t go until you get control of yourself.”
“I want to stay home!”
“Ok, we are since you can’t get control of yourself.”
“NOOO!”
“Should we go now?”
“I want to go!”
Sugarplum is still sitting by the door crying.
“Ok, but you still don’t have control. I’m going to count to 5 and if you don’t have control of yourself, we are not going. One.”
“I don’t want you to count!”
“Two.”
“I want to go!”
“You’re still screaming. Three.”
<whimpers>
“Four. Are you ready?”
“I don’t want to go. I want to stay here!”
“Five. Sorry Honeybun.”
“I want to go to the restaurant!”
“Too late, I counted to 5. We’re staying here.”
I put the pasta in the pan and look for some sauce. Sugarplum has regained her composure:
“Mommy, I want to go now.”
“I told you we were not going if you were not ready by the time I counted to five. If we go now, would that make me a liar? I don’t want to be a liar.”
(Honeybun interjects how lying can send you to jail.)
“I want to take the car!”
“If we go we are not taking the car. It’s a nice day.”
“I’m too tired to walk!”
“It’s okay because we aren’t going to go anyways. I already started lunch.”
Sugarplum runs crying into her room. I finish preparing lunch and plate it up and we all sit down.
“I don’t want pasta!”
“Well, that’s what Honeybun chose because she didn’t throw a fit.”
“I wanted to chose.”
“Then you shouldn’t have been ridiculous. You were ridiculous about walking, you were ridiculous about the cup I gave you and you were ridiculous about brushing your hair.”
“I want to go out!”
“It’s too late, lunch is ready!”
“I’m not hungry. I just want to go to nap.”
“It’s not nap time yet. You can lay down at 1.”
Meanwhile, I’ve finished my lunch and Honeybun is almost done. I slice an apple to share.
“Mommy, I want some apple.”
“Ok, you can have apple. But Honeybun and I are going to have some dip with it because we finished our lunch but you can not have dip if you don’t eat your lunch.”
“Ok.”
Sugarplum eats every bite of her lunch and her apples.
