Hair Raising
Abbie has learned that pulling hair is a neat trick. If she pulls her brothers’ hair, she gets a reaction out of them. If she pulls their hair hard enough, she’ll get a reaction out of me.
Like everything else she does, Abbie pulls hair for attention. If her brothers are ignoring her, she can give their hair a quick yank and they’ll start interacting with her. That interaction might involve biting, but apparently that’s better than being bored. She’ll also start interacting with me in the form of scolding and time outs.
Abbie pulled Ian’s hair this afternoon while we were out. She wanted to leave before I was ready. I told her to wait, and after a minute of waiting she grabbed Ian’s hair and pulled. She didn’t let go this time, though; she just held on tight to his hair and kept pulling straight up.
As Ian started complaining, I reviewed my options for dealing with her. I scolded her, but we were in public so I had to do so quietly without resorting to my Fear of God Voice.
When scolding had no effect, I had to move on to more drastic measures. Time out was worthless because she was already mad about having to stand around with nothing to do.
I grabbed her arm without thinking of what I would do next. I couldn’t just yank her arm away from her head without fear of leaving Ian with a giant bald spot. I tried poking a couple pressure points on her arm, but that had no effect, possibly because I don’t actually know any pressure points. I tried pulling her hand apart, but it was in a tight fist that I couldn’t penetrate without pulling it away from an increasingly irritated Ian.
Not knowing what else to do, I used the same technique I use for stopping a bite in mid-chomp. I put my fingers on Abbie’s cheeks and applied pressure, forcing her mouth open. She hates that, probably because it hurts, and she immediately let go of Ian’s hair.
Ian quickly relaxed as his hair follicles snapped back, and he continued waiting patiently. Abbie started complaining about her harsh treatment, but at least she didn’t move. Meanwhile, I felt like pulling my hair out.
Like everything else she does, Abbie pulls hair for attention. If her brothers are ignoring her, she can give their hair a quick yank and they’ll start interacting with her. That interaction might involve biting, but apparently that’s better than being bored. She’ll also start interacting with me in the form of scolding and time outs.
Abbie pulled Ian’s hair this afternoon while we were out. She wanted to leave before I was ready. I told her to wait, and after a minute of waiting she grabbed Ian’s hair and pulled. She didn’t let go this time, though; she just held on tight to his hair and kept pulling straight up.
As Ian started complaining, I reviewed my options for dealing with her. I scolded her, but we were in public so I had to do so quietly without resorting to my Fear of God Voice.
When scolding had no effect, I had to move on to more drastic measures. Time out was worthless because she was already mad about having to stand around with nothing to do.
I grabbed her arm without thinking of what I would do next. I couldn’t just yank her arm away from her head without fear of leaving Ian with a giant bald spot. I tried poking a couple pressure points on her arm, but that had no effect, possibly because I don’t actually know any pressure points. I tried pulling her hand apart, but it was in a tight fist that I couldn’t penetrate without pulling it away from an increasingly irritated Ian.
Not knowing what else to do, I used the same technique I use for stopping a bite in mid-chomp. I put my fingers on Abbie’s cheeks and applied pressure, forcing her mouth open. She hates that, probably because it hurts, and she immediately let go of Ian’s hair.
Ian quickly relaxed as his hair follicles snapped back, and he continued waiting patiently. Abbie started complaining about her harsh treatment, but at least she didn’t move. Meanwhile, I felt like pulling my hair out.
posted by Matt at
11:39 PM
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