Monday, November 03, 2008

no precedent

Every day seems to be uncharted territory with Henry lately. From moment to moment I have no idea what to expect. My latest pet theory is that the whole Halloween candy conflict really shook his sense of stability and control. A bit extreme I know but a four-year-old who says "the whole world is bad" is a little more than I know what to do with. His stability is hinged on being completely in control of what happens when and how. Clearly this doesn't alway work in his favor and he simply can't recover without completely melting down into crisis mode full of weeping, shrieking, flailing and the like. It sucks. I am not into techniques. All I want is a stable, happy kid and I'm trying to work with him to get there. I don't want to give in to his every desire but right now they feel more like needs than wants to him and it doesn't feel right, nor is it at all effective, to dig in and fight him. I have a plan, some of which includes not over thinking it and giving him some time, another part of which includes an osteopathic treatment tomorrow. I have high hopes for both and if I can get some sleep now a busy day of appointments and uncertainty will seem much easier I'm sure.

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