Everyone warned me about the “terrible twos” and I was pleasantly surprised at how easily they went by with my oldest son. No one warned me about the “power struggle to see who rules the house” threes. However, now that I have a three year old and mention the challenges (of course coupled with the joys), practically everyone with older children nods in remembrance. So, I’m not crazy…three is a crazy age. My husband (who just started teaching eighth graders/13 year olds) says that 13 year olds are the same way…it’s something about those number 3s! On the other hand, three is also an incredibly fun age…my son says the smartest things that really make me think and he is so creative…it’s amazing. I guess that every age balances itself out with its pros and cons.
On another note, Halloween is around the corner. My son wants to be an astronaut, which is totally fine. He also wants this super duper astronaut helmet that costs as much as the costume. (I’m not cheap, but $100 for a combination that’s only going to be worn once or twice is a little silly to me.) Since my husband and I can’t talk my son into being a ghost, we’re going to make him “work” for this combo. We set up this reward system for the next 25 days. He can get 2 stars a day based on the things that we’re working on in his character (respect and self-control). He has the potential to get a bonus star a day for “perseverance” (my son has perfectionist tendencies…if he doesn’t “get” something right away, he just wants to do something else). If he gets a total of 35 stars, he gets the astronaut costume. If he gets 40 stars, he gets the astronaut costume and the helmet. So far (all of two days!), it’s been going well. “Astronauts don’t talk back to their parents” “Astronauts don’t hit their little brothers.” “Astronauts… (Fill in the blank)”. I could get used to this “astronaut training”….