Feelings

Being a mom is hard as hell and some days I feel like a complete failure. Not today. Today I'm seeing things come together. Like potty training. And like teaching GiGi to express her emotions.
She got mad at me a minute ago for turning off the tv and she turned it back on. When I turned it off again, she lashed out, using the blanket she was holding to hit the tv, knocking the cable box and some other stuff off the top. I took her upstairs for an immediate time-out. When time-out was over, I explained to her that when she gets angry she needs to tell mommy and use her words, not hit. She thought about this for a moment, then this is what she said:
"When I was a little girl your age, I got angry at you when you put me in time out. Wait. That story's not right. When I was a little girl like you, when I was your age, and you put me in time out, it made me angry and I was angry at you."
Go GiGi. So proud of my girl. One of the main things I hope to accomplish through parenting is teaching my children to express themselves in a healthy manner and to have healthy boundaries and healthy relationships. Mark and I had our emotions mocked, denied, and ignored as children, and as adults we still struggle trying to express them and even just identify them. I want my kids to know what they're feeling and to tell us. It may not result in them getting what they want, but I want them to know that we care, that we hear them, and that the way they feel matters.