Son No2 is two and a half, I'll call him G, and still continues to misbehave to try and get attention. Understanding this helps to prevent overreaction but it still causes me a lot of frustration. Recently, I was trying to get him in his pyjamas and he was playing up to delay me. I was doing a good job at managing the situation calmly until he deliberately kicked me in the eye. It hurt and the result was a hard slap on his bum. It was not lashing out, it was a controlled action, but much harder than intended and he squealed. His mom was there and was cross with me and all love and sympathetic with G.
"Come here and I'll put your jamas on," she cooed.
"No," he said decisively and looking at me, "want Daddy to put them on!" I gestured him to come close and he ran to me and hugged me saying:
"Love you Daddy." This surprised my wife and I. Slapping your
children is always a last resort and, in effect, an admission of failure but it seems to work and ironically seems to strengthen the bond between father and son; at least on this occasion. However, I still feel like I've failed to manage a situation if the solution is a slap and strive to resolve conflicts differently.
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This is about the joy of fatherhood. It's also about trying to be the best father I can through understanding my three sons, which can be difficult because if Men are from Mars, Children are from Jupiter.
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