Coddle, Cuddle, Whip or Nestle

I surprised even myself. When Thing 2 hit Thing 1, we all braced ourselves for "trouble". I must admit, I am quick to snap my voice. Bark in controlled frustration. I'm not pleased or proud that I do this. It's a bad habit I am - quite honestly - trying to break.

Normally, consequences for hitting would be; me scolding someone, then a time-out either standing facing the corner or being sent to their room (depending on how serious the hit is -- and how tired I am). This time, however, almost organically, the consequences were different.

I calmly moved index finger, silently actioning Thing 2 come to me. I took Thing 2 by the hand and walked upstairs. Instead of turning at the bedroom, we sat in a chair. "You can sit here with me. No, you can't touch the keyboard. Just sit. When you are ready. Go back to Thing 1. Apologize. Hitting isn't nice. Just sit for now." To both our surprises, Thing 2 nestled (great word - "nestled") into my shoulder and sat quietly on my lap. Thing 2 took a deep cleansing breath. Nestled.

Neither coddle the child nor give them the whip. I strongly believe that a time out is beneficial for a child to change emotion and behaviour. Cuddle time is not coddle time. It's time to connect. Time to relax, de-stress, breath. Thing 2 was surprised by my silent consequences. I was surprised how well it worked and how quickly both our emotionally snapping stopped. I surmise that; we all just need to nestle in silence sometimes.