Family therapy

Today was our first official famiy therapy session at PADTC. I'm so glad we had it 'cause last night was hell here.

I had let the kids go to a birthday party, when Iwent to pick them up Chantel decided to growl at e and start yelling. I told her she was grounded and she told me I was embarrassing her in front of her friends. I kept thinking to myself, and growling didn't embarrass you?

We get home and Bry asked if he could go online to show me a song. I said yes, but then he needed to get off the computer and do his homwork. After he foundthe song he decided to go on youtube. I told him to get off and he got an attitude. I then told him to go and do his homework. h gotan atttude and told me to back off, he had just got home. He kept beng a brat and I ended up yelling. He ran upstairs crying and Chantel tried telling me to leave him alone. I told her if she didn't stop sh was going to be grounded for the whole weekend. She actually chose to stop. Bry came back dowstairs and we started taking.

He made the comment tht all the other kids are respectful to heir parents, an I'm always saying that it's ok to be different so why should they be like all the other kids and be respectful. Oh, this child sometimes. I told him that beng different from other people did not mean being disrespectful to your parents. Then he popped off with "Sometimes I want to tell you that e're just kids and still learning, but I know I'd get in trouble if I said that." told him, yep you'd get in trouble for saying that because there isn't a reason for you too. It's my job as the mom to teach you what's right and wrong. I already know that you're kids and don't know everything. Hell, I'm an adult and I don't know everything. It ended up being a good conversation and everyone went to bed feeling ok.

When I went to PDTC I was talking with Chantel's therapist about last night and then hebrought her in. At first she wasn't going to talk and say wha she learnd from the night before. Her therapist toldher that if she didn't she would sit out of class with a writing assignment about it. Which would mean getting X's in class and not earning a trip to DQ. She finally sat up an told us that she learned that she needs to work on being nicer to people and how it makes me feel when they act like they were.

YEAH!!!!!!! That's the most we've ever gotten out of her during any therapy session. I was so proud of her that I almost started crying.

It's these moments that make me realize that maybe I'm doing somethng right. That some of what I say is sinking in. Thank god, 'cause most of the time I think I'm talking to the walls.