I was gone the last couple days to a pastoral conference, but while I was away Tarren took Lucas to the doctor. He had been quite crabby for the past week or so. Crabbiness is not terribly uncharacteristic for this almost three-year-old boy, but the level of his crabbiness was uncharacteristic. We wondered if it could be allergies or an ear infection or both.
Here was our logic: In the past a rise in crabbiness had often indicated that he was suffering from an ear infection, so we wondered if maybe sinus congestion from allerigies had led to an ear infection, which in turn would lead to his crabbiness. Tarren had been giving him Claritin from time to time.
Anyway, Sunday was the kicker for my wife. Lucas was especially uncooperative in church and later at the church picnic, so we decided it was time to go to the doctor.
The doctor indicated that his ears were clear and that he may be suffering from some minor allergies, but he strongly suggested that we stop giving him Claritin, as they can lead to behavioral problems.
Then, interestingly, he proceeded to give Lucas a short lecture about listening to his Mom and Dad. Lucas cowered but didn't cry. He wondered what we did when he misbehaves. Tarren told him that we put him in timeout. How long? For three minutes. Not long enough, said the doctor. Put him in his room and make him stay there for thirty minutes.
Tarren's conclusion: I really like this doctor!
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3 comments:
I disagree with the doctor. I have been told that you should put your child in timeout as many minutes as their age. After that it becomes meaningless. But timeout should be in an "unattractive" place. Often a child's room is a pleasant place to play. Or it could be miscontstrued as an unpleasant place and cause problems with bedtime.
Thirty minutes give time for a nap, something that usually changes mood.
why do we not see any blogs from the other Vance side of the family. We would appreciate the pictures of Duane and Kelly's children too.
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