The Nuclear Family Meltdown

Screaming can be heard from the street, through closed doors and windows. Something small set it off. “Please go wash your hands for dinner. No not at the kitchen sink. Upstairs in your bathroom.” Every Thursday. No. Really. EVERY Thursday.

M attends an intense core curriculum charter school. Homework is a daily occurrence. By Thursday she is done. The smallest frustration with math or reading sets her off. B attends an education-based pre-school slash daycare. By Thursday being a big girl and not napping anymore has caught up with her too.

Hubby and I are at our wits end. Three weeks in a row now we have had knock-down drag-out fit throwing from our seven and five year old. We have been following all the “rules.” Don’t give in. Don’t let them get their way. They will learn that a fit will get them what they want. The fits have lasted from 30 minutes to an hour. We are done.

We decided that there will be NO errands on Thursday afternoon. The monthly menu now boasts a crockpot meal on Thursday, so no cooking time either. We will come home and give the girls what they really want, but are not able to express: an environment to meltdown that is safe, loving and does not involve going to their room or time out. We call it family steam night. Let off steam. Do something together as a family. Lots of hugs and snuggles.

This week boasts Karaoke. Singing is my hubby’s true love. The girls love to flaunt with a microphone. We have a new video camera. Ham it up baby you are on TV.

Logistics:

Microphone attached to our speaker system so we can blast out the neighbors.

TV tuned to the Karaoke channel.

Did not know you had a karaoke channel? You get cable? Then you most likely do. Go into themes with your remote and type in karaoke and do a search. DirecTV has channel 1828 The Karaoke Channel On Demand. You can search by genre, artist, and title. Plenty of kid’s songs as well as all those 80s tune that hubby and I love to sing.

Optional:

Video camera so you can blackmail your children at age 18.

Enjoy your nuclear family time tonight.