There's a Spider in my Pocket!
My 2 year old is constantly talking about spiders and spider webs. I thought he would enjoy it if I got him a pack of fake spiders from the Dollar Tree to play with. He had a reaction to them, but it was the exact opposite of what I expected.
HE IS SCARED OF THE FAKE SPIDERS!
As mean as this sounds (before you judge please understand my son is 2 handfuls) I used this to my advantage.
He loves to go into the fridge every 2 to 3 minutes. I put one of the spiders on one of the shelves eye-level to him. He opened the fridge one time yesterday and hasn't opened it since. Now instead of raiding the fridge, he comes and grabs my hand to show me what he wants.
He loves to go play in the bathroom sink and make "puddles" as he calls them which is precisely what he does. I put one of the spiders on the bathroom counter. It worked.
I also keep a spider in my pocket. Any time he is doing something wrong like drawing on walls or hitting his sisters I say "UH OH THERE'S A SPIDER IN MY POCKET!" It stops him dead in his tracks every time.
I usually go to WalMart by myself to do my shopping, but yesterday we wanted to test out the spider at the store so my husband and son came with me. This boy was PERFECT. He didn't get in trouble, he didn't try to get out of the buggy, he didn't do any of the things 2 year olds do at the store. He sat quietly and patiently, thanks to the spider in my pocket.
I know it's terrible. But as moms sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do. If he starts having bad dreams I will throw away the spiders, but as long as he isn't having nighmares the spiders are my new best friends.
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lol! that is such a great story. Kinda wonder if he might be talking about spiders to a therapist in 20 or 30 years.
Lol well I sure hope not. He has quite the imagination. He loves to sing. He makes up songs about his daily activities just random songs. He can recite a commercial after seeing it one time. When a commercial is on he recites it word for word. I may have an actor on my hands.
Sounds like a creative way to use take away motivation as they call it to effect or motivate change. No one knows your child better than you. Personally I think your have great courage in making your self vulnerable to the WA network, shows a lot of trust. I for one say go for it and be blessed. Thank you for sharing.
I have a 2 year old nephew that i baby sit and man is he a handful. Gotta mention this to my sister:)
Yes it is, gotta try it with my nephew but knowing him he'll probably just throw it at me lol
I was fortunate, my son has always been very wonderful and excellent behavior. He was laid back when he was born and still is, had the look of the future waiting to arrive or something. He reads the most advanced books that are and have been out there for a while. He's fifteen years old, plays the Bassoon for symphony band and the Saxophone for Marching Band...he is my miracle baby, never thought I could have children, then there he comes. The brightest light in my life!
I always thought my girls were hard as babies, until I met my son lol. He was always a laid back baby, but naturally when he reached toddler stage he had to go and change on me.
My son pours his drink on the floor or table so he can get down and slurp it off. Yes you're reading that right. This should give you an idea of what I'm dealing with. But he is very smart. At 2 years old he can read which really took me by surprise because my 6 year old can't read yet and won't even try. I didn't sit down with my son for hours and teach him how to read. Why would I do that with a 2 year old? But he did have an obsession with the alphabet for some time and for some reason his brain has just processed all of that rather quickly. It could have something to do with the fact that he watches a lot of music videos with lyrics and everything that comes on the TV has captions on it. He can master a puzzle that is way out of his age range all by himself. He is definately tough though. I saw him fight for his life a few months ago and he suffered temporary brain damage and had to learn how to sit, eat, drink, walk, talk, everything he learned as a baby he had to re-learn.
Wow, sorry to hear that. My son burned his hands in a bon fire at 15 mo's I know the stress and worry that goes along with that. Hope he is doing much better now.
Enjoy the break while you can, because it is only a matter of time before he catches on and you will lose your advantage! :)
You are right. My husband and I already talked about that too. We give it a few days tops hopefully a week though.
I didn't think about that yet. I'm sure a year from now my girls will be saying "Do you remember when Joey was scared of the fake spiders?" unless there is a chance a year from now the spiders are still my friends lol.
Don't hold your breath!!! I would be shocked if they were still your friend! As a matter of fact you might start praying he isn't putting real spiders in your pocket by then! LOL!
My oldest daughter was scared of the vacuum too but I never used it like that on her lol. She is 8 now.
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Whatever works! When my girls were little one of them would bring in dandelions and leave one to shrivel up and die in the dark corners of the hallway because it would scare me thinking it was a spider! It wasn't until years later I found out she did it on purpose - she thought it was funny! She has her own 16-month old now and I can hardly wait to she what she has in store for her! Lol
My parents always said to me " I can't wait until you have kids and you will be paid back 10 times worse" Well I decided I won't tell my kids that. I tell them " I hope your kids don't do you the way you do me" I want to reverse that curse!