Why Spank.

Zoe was really crying at the same time asking " Why spank? Mama Why spank?" Yup...in the midst of his crying, he was also asking in his broken voice "Why Spank?" He is maybe really smart... At his age 2 years and 4 days...he can audibly ask questions, make funny remarks and quite advance psychomotor skills.

Why did i spank him? Aside from all his advance skills and capabilities... he is also naughty. It is cute but little as he is, he is not excuse to be naughty despite it appears cute. Zoe has to learn to behave appropriately... tantrums, though (again) he looks cute whenever he does things, is not cute at all. He needs to be corrected if telling him won't work the rod serves as the final notice of his behavior. I am a firm believer of Psalms 13:24 that says:

"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."

I wrote the three major rules in our house in one of my blogs. You can click it here. Violating those rules has a consequence. Minor offenses get verbal warnings, if the kids won't heed the warnings, they get grounded.

We apply those rules to Zoe. He gets two swats on his buttocks if he breaks the rule. Good thing he got fleshy buns. LOL. And like I said in my other blog. It is really hard to discipline your kids because my heart is aching as I implement the consequences. If John does it... It is also hard to listen to the sound of the swat.

Last night when he was spank. He asked not because he did not understand but because he just do not want to be spanked. Who wants it anyway? He knows when he is going to get rod. With Zoe, he gets the warning first, making sure he knows what he is doing and what is coming if he pushes it.

Rest assured that my kids were not larruped. Beating them are different with the whipping that we imposed. For sure also that there are lots of christian literature that support the idea of the rod. And our rod is a foot and a quarter long including the handle and has 1.25 inch width at least.

Our Rod has a Sticker that serves as a reminder. I also found this Online which is very similar to the "How To Spank" in our rod.

• Have the child tell you the reason they are being punished.
• Parent should wait one minute between each swat.
• Apply no more than 5 swats per day.
• Spank only on the rump.
• Child must be wearing clothes.
• Use force sufficient only to get the child's attention.
• Support child's torso so no stress can be placed on their spine.

But to add those how-to above... Comfort the child immediately after spanking. Do not make him feel rejected. Hold him/ her close and reassure him/ her of your love.

Zoe Turns TWO

Zoe was born July 17, 2007 at around 8:46 piyem by C-Section at Mindanao Medical Center. Last year, we were in Manial when he turned 1 yr old. We were all there for Jason's open heart surgery.

Zoe's 2nd birthday was celebrated at home... funny Timyta forgot to buy the candles for his birthday cake that we simply bought over the counter of Red Ribbon... so it ended up like Zoe is still a year old after all. LOL

He actually had 2 and a half slices of cake and 3 helpings of spaghetti...

transition

Zoe usually wakes up asking for milk early in the morning. Then when he started to learn to open the doorknob, he normally gets up and looks for everyone who is already awake then asks for milk, if he wakes up ahead of everybody, he tends to wake up his dada and drag him out of the bed then to the dining.

But today, he didn't do all that. He stayed in bed a little bit longer. He laid his head on my tummy then began talking. He recalled what happened yesterday. He narrated to me how he bumped his head, how he tripped.. he said all that of course not the way we do but all in his funny keywords and his sound effects.

Made It!

Potty training... is demanding to some extent. Parents need patience to successfully make it with their child until the kid forms it a habit to sit simply on the potty whenever he needs to pee poo or poo pee...

Zoe is still a year old, 11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days today... and we made him sit on the potty and he successfully made poo. For 2 weeks, we accompanied him to pee but still could not poo in his potty. He calls any one of us whenever he needs to pee and... we rush to the bathroom and he takes a leak there. But tonight, he did call me and he told me he wanted to poo. So i brought him along and stayed with him, him sitting on his potty and me on the bowl. After a few minutes... Zoe made it.

I was really happy... so proud of my youngest child who is also willing to be trained like his older siblings. It maybe a little late for him compared to his "kuya jason" and "ate yanni" but we are happy of his progress.

We know kids have different respond to developmental stages so we always appreciate each one of them of their strength and congratulate them of their success. We encourage them whenever they need a little push when faced with difficullty.

superZOE

Boys love superheroes. My two sons are no exceptions. Both love to watch JL and XMen. They have "costume day" where both would just put on their superhero costume.

ATV

Zoe's precious moments... able to sit on this ATV...was one euphoric memory to keep... He just loved this pictures and would always feel elated to see himself on ATV over and over again...

A, yOu'rE aDoRaBLe...

A you're adorable... Zoe is simply an adorable kid. My kids are all incredible and happy kids. Moms do say that to any of their kid. Mom says her child is brilliant...she said her baby is the most adorable one...and please allow us to do that without contesting our remarks for our children. Only moms can exercise the right to use superlative... not to fill air on our kids' head... above anything else... i believe mother's role is to encourage, assure, boost confidence, facilitate her child in order for him to learn, develop his potentials, excel in his craft, and make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Bedtime Stories

Parents reading to their kids is a picture of a classic and ideal home. John and I do this. We read stories to our kids. Zoe is into this stage where he just grabs a book before going to sleep...he starts calling John and I to bed. Then we read the book.


Most of the time he grabs the book from us and he picture-reads it. He loves Dr. Seuss Books... he also likes those that have bear characters like Corduroy. Just so you know, Zoe, like Mr. Bean, loves teddy bears. He has lots including hand puppets. So obviously, his fave book is Corduroy... and some Dr. Seuss with those bears in the story.

Stay here...stay there...

Zoe is very attached to his dad. He whines every time John goes away from home, either for work or some errands.

Lately, Zoe did something funny. He could already sense that Dada was about to leave. So he ran towards our bedroom door and told John "Stay Here!" ... then after he said that he zoomed towards our main door, slammed it and locked the knob... and shouted "Stay There! Stay there!!!"

Zoe used to plea to his dad... he tearfully say "No Dada! No!" with a voice so helpless. Zoe is the only one who is like that. Our two older kids had never been fussy or whatsoever every time John or even myself would go out from the house. Both Jason and Yanni were sang-froid... assure that no matter, we will always come back for them.

I wonder how we would deal with Zoe... He is really attached not just to John but even to his older brother.... Zoe is simply different. Kids, no matter how much they are alike in some of their mannerism but their individuality still dominates. In the case of Zoe, he really does not like to be left behind by John or his Kuya.