Becoming An OCD Mom With OCD Kids

Today marked the third day in a row that I paid a visit to our counselor's office.

I was only the patient for 1 of those 3 visits.

The other 2 visits were for my daughters.

For a mom, the instinct to protect our children is one of the most basic acts in human nature. From the moment we get the news, the maternal instinct kicks in, and we start basing all of our life choices on what will be best for our child. A not so subtle shift occurs in our point of view - from I'm taking care of "me", to I'm taking care of "we".

And that urge to shelter our babies from harm doesn't end once they made their grand and glorious exit from the womb. Instead, it amps into overdrive as we can no longer protect our babies with our body, because they are now exposed to the world. Suddenly, we see every danger that might harm our child.

At first we try to save them from everything, but over time relax a little as we realize that these little bundles of poop and drool are actually more resilient than we thought. You survive the first cold, first stomach bug, first bump on the head, first fall off the bed, and determine that you might not have to wrap them in bubble wrap after all. And you breathe a small sigh of relief. But you never lose that instinct to protect.

I have felt as though my entire journey of motherhood has been one of waiting. Watching. Worrying. Because for my children, there is a danger that I can not protect them from. Since OCD is genetic, it means that I may have passed that danger on to my children. And so I spent the better part of 5 years looking for signs that I prayed would never appear, but feared they would.

And to my dismay (and guilt), they did.

As I learned more about OCD, and learned that it was a genetic mental illness, as many are, I realized that there was a possibility I would pass this burden on to my future children. And for a brief moment I had to have an inner debate with myself about what that meant.

OCD had spent most of my life torturing me, and I knew how crippling it could be. Did I really want to do that to another human being, or maybe even a few human beings? And I came to the conclusion that yes, I did. Not that I wanted my children to have OCD, but I wanted my children, regardless of what I would be potentially passing on to them. For me, the rewards outweighed the risk.

And so three times I delivered tiny little people into the world, and all three times I breathed a little prayer that God would spare them from the hell that is OCD.

But he didn't. At least, at this point, not for 2 of them.

In the winter of 2016, I noticed that Molly, our oldest was pulling her shirts off over her head, then back on, then off, then on. She said she was worried that the shirt wouldn't come off, and so she was checking to make sure that she would be able to take it off later that night. On and off, on and off. Checking. And my heart sank.

Then she began to struggle in Kindergarten, and I watched her confidence evaporate. I also watched her insist on practicing things over and over that she got wrong, and erase letters if she didn't think they were perfect.

At that time I was about two months into counseling with my current therapist. After a conversation with her over the phone about what I had noticed, and then an intake interview with Molly, she confirmed what I had known deep down. That my baby was going to walk this path with me, a path I would have preferred to travel solo.

And so, Molly started her therapy journey as well.

A year and a half later, in the summer of 2017, I then watched our middle child and youngest daughter, Kenzie, turn a brief moment of having a popcorn hull stuck in her throat, into a full blow I'm-going-to-eat-nothing obsession.

We couldn't get her to eat anything except mashed potatoes and popsicles. She wouldn't even put food into her mouth, let alone chew and swallow. And people, I completely, totally panicked. I mean full on freak out.

Because this, this, was exactly how my OCD had started, with a food phobia and fear of choking. And now my precocious, carefree, fun-loving 4 year old was going through the EXACT SAME THING. It just wasn't fair.

Which was what I said to our therapist over the phone a day later. I had sent her a text message, and on her return phone call she opened with "Well, are you freaking out right now?" Yes. Yes I was. She pointed out that we knew this was a possibility.

"I know. But I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed for her. And I have no idea how I am going to parent 2 children with OCD while trying to deal with it myself." So began Kenzie's therapy journey.

In some future posts I hope to outline some of the exact obsessions and compulsions that the girls have dealt with, and how we have dealt with them, but I think their stories deserve to be told separately. And my purpose in writing this particular blurb is to send a message to parents out there trying to help their children battle a mental illness.

You are NOT alone.

I am right here with you, in the thick, mucky, swampy trenches, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because friends, this is a war. A war against the chemicals and brain structures that are holding our children's mental health hostage. And we have to help our children fight. If your child is struggling with anxiety, phobias, perfectionism, depression, low self-esteem, trauma, etc. please, please do not just assume it is going to go away.

As a teacher-mom, I am having more and more conversations with parents that go something like this:

I know that admitting that your child needs help is scary. As a mom or dad, we like to think we are capable of meeting every one of our child's needs. But there is no shame in seeking outside help for your child. In fact, it's one of the bravest things you can do, even though it's one of the hardest things you will do. Taking my child to a counselor, admitting that I couldn't help her deal with what she was going through, was tough and humbling. But it's the best decision I have ever made as a parent, the best thing I have ever done for my child, and I have no regrets.

Because in the end, don't we just want what's best for our children? Don't we want to see them happy and thriving, instead of merely surviving? If we saw our child had a physical medical need, wouldn't we do everything possible to get them medical care and treatment?

Of course we would, because we don't want them to suffer.

And mental health should be no different.

Back to Basics & KISSing

Whew, what a year!  This has been 365 days of personal and professional transformation unlike any other I have experienced.  It's been exhilarating, yet deeply, deeply humbling.  And none of it was on purpose.

I stepped away from this blog to try and tackle the big, bad, world of professional blogging by purchasing a domain name and professional hosting site.

What was I thinking?

I am a full time, working mom of 3 kids.  I pour my heart and soul into those two occupations, not to mention the fact that I took on some major responsibilities in my daytime profession that ate up all of my extra time I had planned to devote to blogging.

Let's say my eyes were bigger than my stomach. 

I had great intentions, I really did, but had no clue what I was doing.  Not to mention the fact that most of the technical jargon related to professional blogging is completely lost on me.  Whereas Blogger just keeps in simple for me.

Hence the title of this post, Back to Basics and KISSing.  The Back to Basic refers to my return to this low-key style of blogging, and the KISSing refers to the acronym, Keep It Simple, Stupid.  Or for those who feel that language is too strong, Keep It Simple, Sister.  Or Sista'.  Whichever you prefer.

I've realized in my year of personal transformation that I have a lot to say about a lot of things, none of which was being communicated to anyone because of my fear of failure and struggle with perfectionism.  More on all of this in a later post.

So one of my rocks for this summer is to return to blogging in a simple format, one that is less intimidating, and more me-friendly.  Maybe someday I'll try my hand at BIG GIRL BLOGGING again, but for now, I'm content to just KISS it and move on. 

I don't need a bunch of bells and whistles to share my experiences and my story, just a keyboard, a basic blog, and maybe some fun graphics thrown in.

There is, however, one blog post from my BIG GIRL BLOG that I am very proud of, and will be repeating on this page for those who haven't read it.  I guess you could say I will be doing a guest post, featuring myself.

But for now, I just want to say that I can't wait to start sharing all I have learned in this past year, and hope that this small, unassuming blog will find its way to some readers.

Hugs and KISSes-
Allison

Book Review - It Starts With Food

Book Stats:

Publication Date - July 29, 2014

Audio Version - 8 hours and 57 minutes

Hard Copy - 328 pages

ISBN - 978-1628600544

In May I decided to make a renewed commitment to clean eating.  I am the first to admit that it became very difficult to stick with it once school began.  The business and stress of the school year quickly led me to fall back on old, bad habits, like junk food and caffeine.  So as the year began to wind down and I had an Audible credit to use, I decided to search for something that would help inspire me to change my eating habits (again).  I landed on It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig.  I had heard of the Whole30, and know a few coworkers have tried the program, so I thought this would be a good place to start.

After listening to the book, I’ve decided that It Starts With Food is the in-depth scientific explanation of why the Whole30 program is designed the way that it is.  It Starts With Food gives detailed explanations of the science side of the program, including how macronutrients work in the body, and also explaining the negative effects of sugars, carbs, and dairy products on the body.  They also share the upsides to proteins, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables.

As a big picture person, it’s easy for me to overlook details, because I get so excited about the, well, big picture.  I don’t ask enough questions sometimes, and don’t say “why” often enough.  It is for this reason that I am really glad that I listened to It Starts With Food before reading the Whole30 book.  It forced me to develop a deeper understanding of the reasons behind the Whole30, which also gives me more confidence in the program.

My one criticism of the book, and this isn’t really a criticism of the authors so much as the method of delivery that I used, is that it was hard to digest all of the information, pardon the pun, in audio form  There was so much science (a subject that is NOT my forte), that it could be hard to follow at times when just listening.  In college, I always reread sections of textbooks, trying to glean every last bit of understanding that I could from the pages.  Which was why I ended up checking out a hard copy of It Starts With Food from the public library, so that I could reread some sections and take some notes.  

What follows is my summary of what you need to know about It Starts With Food.

Here is an outline of the sections of this book:

Part 1 - It Starts With Food

Chapter 1 - Food Should Make You Healthy

Chapter 2 - Our Nutritional Framework

Part 2 - Good Food Standards

Chapter 3 - What Is Food?

Chapter 4 - Your Brain On Food

Chapter 5 - Healthy Hormones, Healthy You

Chapter 6 - The Guts of the Matter

Chapter 7 - Inflammation: No One Is Immune

Part 3 - Less Healthy

Chapter 8 - Sugar, Sweeteners and Alcohol

Chapter 9 - Seed Oils

Chapter 10 - Grains and Legumes

Chapter 11 - Dairy

Chapter 12 - It All Adds Up

Part 4 - More Healthy

Chapter 13 - Meat, Seafood and Eggs

Chapter 14 - Vegetables and Fruits

Chapter 15 - The Right Fats

Part 5 - Let’s Eat

Chapter 16 - Meal Planning Made Easy

Part 6 - The Whole30

Chapter 17 - Preface to the Program

Chapter 18 - The Whole30: Process of Elimination

Chapter 19 - The Whole30: Reintroduction

Part 7 - Whole30, Whole Life

Chapter 20 - Strategies for Long Term Success

Chapter 21 - Fine Tuning for Special Populations

Chapter 22 - Supplement Your Healthy Diet

Read This Book If:

*You are already invested in the Whole30 program, but want a more detailed explanation

*You are interested in the Whole30 program, but skeptical of why you will be asked to give up the holy trinity of sugars, carbs and dairy

*You want a better understanding of how food “works” once it enters our body

Skip This Book If:

*You find science boring (I don’t find it boring, just difficult to follow)

*You already use the Whole30, have found that it works, and don’t really need to know more

*You would rather maintain an ignorance is bliss stance when it comes to the food you put into your body

As for the content of the book, I will save my opinion of the Whole30 for the actual book of the same name, but I will say that if I had read just the Whole30 first, I would have had some major doubts.  Give up sugar, carbs and dairy?  But what if I use natural sweeteners, whole grains, and organic dairy products or alternative dairy products (i.e. soy milk, almond milk, etc.)  But It Starts With Food pulls no punches in explaining why these items do not make the cut with regards to the good food standards, and although I still find it extremely hard to avoid these foods (and sometimes am unsuccessful), I now at least understand WHY I am being asked to do so.  This book also helped me understand why I found it so difficult to stay the course with my clean eating, and the reason I eventually fell off the wagon and gave in to my cravings.  Spoiler alert - food scientists are designing junk food to be addictive. Not cool.

It Starts With Food has insightful information to share, and you can tell that the Hartwigs have poured their hearts and souls into the program that they have created, and truly want to help others change their lives which. And as they say - it starts with food.

My Summer Reading: Renewed and Re-Inspired

When I was growing up, my bicycle was my ticket to freedom.  We lived in a small town and a kid could get just about anywhere with just 2 wheels.  My bike took me a lot of places, but one of my most frequent stops was the local library.  On any given summer day I could be seen pedaling my way down the uneven, bumpy sidewalks, past our town park and grain elevator, to the library, which was about three blocks away from my home.  My tan canvas bag would hang from one handlebar, so loaded with books that it would pull my bike to one side, making it a challenge to navigate those bumpy sidewalks I mentioned.  But once I arrived at the library I parked my bike and reveled in the cool air conditioning inside, and the shelves and shelves of books at my disposal.  I read and re-read anything and everything, with a particular affinity for Roald Dahl, Nancy Drew, and biographies.  After carefully selecting my next pile of reading material I then pedaled my way home again to spend my afternoons with my new pile of books.  I lost myself in the pages, going on countless adventures with characters that were as real to me as any of my friends I pedaled around town with in the coolness of the evenings.

As I got older, my love for reading never waned, but it changed some in tone.  Out of necessity, I began reading more technical literature in high school and college, but still made time for "pleasure" reading.  This never really changed until I had children.  Although even then, with one child, I was still able to find time to read, if only in the summer.  But once our second child came along, the amount of reading I was able to do was reduced to one or two professional books, in the summertime.  Now with three children, my reading has become non-existent, unless you count the numerous audiobooks I listen to, a result of the hour commute I have each day.  Audiobooks have become my only source of reading these days, and that makes me sad.

I haven't lost my love of reading.  It has just taken a backseat to other priorities that have evolved from my recent seasons of life.  But this summer, I am making a renewed commitment to my reading passion.  I have a pile of books - yes, a pile! - on my nightstand that I intend to plow through this summer.  Granted, many of them are professional reading, but reading is reading.

There are two themes to my summer reading list: teaching/parenting and food/nutrition.   Here's a snapshot of what's on my book lists, along with a brief explanation of why each book made the cut:

FOOD AND NUTRITION

It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways by Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Hart

*I had purchased this audiobook with an Audible credit, but didn't finish it before the school year was up.  Plus, it's loaded with technical information, so I need to reread it to fully grasp everything being taught in this book.

The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom by Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig

*After listening to most of It Starts With Food, I was interested to learn more about the Whole30 program.

The Whole30 Cookbook: 150 Delicious and Totally Compliant Recipes to Help You Succeed with the Whole30 and Beyond by Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig.

*Okay, technically a cookbook probably doesn't count as reading, but it looks like there is a lot of great information stuffed between those recipes!

The Unhealthy Truth: One Mother's Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America's Food Supply-- and What Every Family Can Do to Protect Itself by Robyn O'Brien

*I've been doing some research into the toxic chemicals found in our food, and am curious about what this mom has to say.

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

*Lisa Leake, creator of the 100 Days of Real Food, mentioned this book on her blog, so I thought it was worth taking a look at.

TEACHING AND PARENTING

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson

*I've heard bits and pieces about whole-brain teaching, but haven't really read anything solid, so this was added to the list.

Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings by Kenneth R. Ginsburg MD FAAP

*2 years ago our district received Trauma Informed Care training, and this book was mentioned.  Plus, the population of students that I serve could greatly benefit from strategies to build resiliency.

21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn (Leading Edge) by James Bellanca and Ron Brandt

*Teaching 21st century skills is quickly becoming a movement in my district, so I wanted to read up a little more this summer.

21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times by Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel

*Ditto the book above.

The Growth Mindset Coach: A Teacher's Month-by-Month Handbook for Empowering Students to Achieve by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley

*My building is becoming an official Leader in Me school this year!  I have read almost all the literature written by Dr. Covey, and decided that more research into coaching a growth mindset might be the next logical course of action.

Teaching Kids to Think: Raising Confident, Independent, and Thoughtful Children in an Age of Instant Gratification by Darlene Sweetland and Ron Stolberg

*This title grabbed me with words like "think", "confident", "independent", "thoughtful" and "instant gratification".

So...that's 11 books.  Yikes!

The good news is that one of them is almost finished already since I listened to a good chunk of it in May, and one is a cookbook.  I have 2 of them packed to take on our family vacation (we are driving to Disney and back).  I also have a 4 day trip to Boston at the end of July for a teaching conference, and I'll need something to take my mind off of a) the plane ride and b) missing my kids and husband.

I'm so excited to dive into these books, and I'm hoping that I can share my opinion of each book after it's finished.  Look for a review of It Starts With Food soon!

Happy June, and I hope your summer is full of relaxation and of course, reading!

Allison

Love and Logic Tip #4 - Sharing Control

I realized just how powerful this particular Love and Logic tip is when I shared it with a parent back in November.

To protect the privacy of both the student and the parent, I won't go into the details of why we were meeting, but throughout the course of the discussion I deduced that due to a situation in the child's life, he had lost an immense amount of power and control.  So I decided to put on my parenting cap and share with this parent what I will now share with you.

As the grown-ups in the house, we feel, and were raised to believe, that the adults have all the power and control, because we're older, wiser, bigger, stronger, etc.  But what I've learned as both a mommy and a teacher, is that being older, wiser, bigger and stronger does not necessarily mean that we have any true power and control over children.  You can intimidate, threaten, plead, manipulate and yell, but unless you resort to physical tactics (and I definitely am not advocating that here), you really can't force your child to do anything.  We try to set good examples, be models of desired behavior, and reward good behavior, but ultimately, those little brains will do what they want, unless motivated to do otherwise.  I mean, yes, you can resort to intimidation tactics, but is that really the kind of relationship you want to have with your child?  If it is, you are probably reading the wrong blog.

The same is pretty much true of teaching, except we have even less power and control than the parents or guardians of our students, making it an even greater challenge to retain that power.

Many households and classrooms are battlegrounds for power and control, with kids on one side and adults on the other.  These rarely ever end as win-win situations.  Instead, one side wins and one side loses, and when this happens, it really ends up being a lose-lose situation.  If the parent comes out on top, the child will seek ways to gain that control back, resulting in further battles down the road.  If the child comes out on top, the parent loses respect (self and otherwise).

The key to a win-win situation with power and control is to give away as much control as possible as a parent.  Don't throw tomatoes at me just yet, hear me out.  Don't give away power and control in situations that matter to you.  You give away power and control when you don't even need/want it in the first place.  How?  By offering choices.  Lots and lots of choices.  So many choices that your little darlings believe they are in charge.  Would you like to drink milk or juice tonight for dinner?  Would you like to color with crayons or colored pencils?  Do you want to get ready for bed now or in 10 minutes?  Hint - Ask them this question 10 minutes before you actually need or want them to start getting ready for bed.  Would you like to have fun today or be bored?  Seriously, this was a suggestion from the Love and Logic gurus.  You give choices over things that don't matter.

What's the point to all the choices?  Because every choice you offer, you are making a power/control deposit into your child's psychological bank.  Then, when it's time for you to be the parent and take back some of that power and control, you can make a withdrawal knowing that you've already deposited a mother load (no pun intended) of choices all day long.  The L&L people suggest phrasing it like this: "I know you don't want to ______, but haven't I've been giving you lots of choices all day long?  Now it's my turn to make a choice."  I find that 99% of the time, they don't really argue with that.  They might want to, but deep down they know they have no legs to stand on here, and save the arguing for another time.  Probably about 10 minutes from now.

Have fun with this one, and challenge yourself to see how many choices you can offer your child throughout the day!  And if you need some ideas, click on this link for a list of ideas with possible choices you can offer kids.

Next up: Tip #5, Taming the Angry Beast.  As a mommy of a 7 year old, 4 year old, and 2 year old, I promise you this is one I am oh so acquainted with.

Have a magical day, and see ya real soon!
Allison

Blog Bliss - My 3 Favorite Blogs for Penny Pinching!

Pinching pennies has become a major focus in my life.  Most of the strategies I use have come from some fabulous ladies who run some equally fabulous blogs.  I thought I would briefly share my top 3 favorites.

1. Money Saving Mom

Crystal Paine is a force of nature.  I love this blog for the deals she posts, tips she shares, and sales she promotes.  But I also love her personal posts, because they speak to me as a mom.  I recently listened to her book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, and it has changed my life.  It has helped me so much with time management, goal setting, and financial planning.

2. Passionate Penny Pincher

Laurie at Passionate Penny Pincher has saved me so much money as both a mom and a teacher.  Her weekly posts include Top 10 Amazon deals for the week, best coupons to print, free ebooks, and biggest deals from store ads, to name a few.  I highly recommend subscribing to her daily emails, they help keep me in the know, since I don't have time to read the blogs each day.

3. Penny Pinchin' Mom

I'm new to Tracie's Penny Pinchin' Mom blog, but it's a new favorite.  Her posts cover a variety of topics, from financial advice, recipes, and DIY projects to the web's latest freebies and deals.

What about you?  I would love to hear about some of your favorites!  Feel free to share in the comments section!

Love and Logic Tip #3 - The Energy Drain

When I was in high school, I participated in the school musical all four years.  My senior year I was even lucky enough to have the lead in one of my favorites, The Sound of Music.  Although for me, the draw was mainly the musicality of the show, I have to admit that I did enjoy the acting aspect of it as well.  It was fun to get to pretend for a few hours that I was living someone else’s life.  It was a challenge to portray a member of a small, proud Iowa community in 1912 , a Puerto Rican immigrant living in the Upper West Side of New York City in the mid 1950s, and a nun turned nanny turned wife and stepmother in Austria on the eve of the Anschluss in 1938.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed the acting side of being in a musical.

As a mother and a teacher, those acting skills have come in handy.

“That blob of colors that you just created with glitter glue is absolutely beautiful!”

“I would be happy to reschedule our parent teacher conference - for the third time!”

It so happens that my favorite Love and Logic technique also happens to require a little bit of acting. The purpose of an energy drain is to give you something to use when a natural consequence just isn’t possible, or easy to come up with.  Let’s face it, kids are pros at testing our creativity when it comes to consequences.

For example, my daughters, the oldest in particular, are champion whiners.  “I listen to big girl voices” only gets me so far.

When I can’t take the whining any longer, I whip out an energy drain.  Here’s how it works.  This first example is better suited for parenting, but I will explain in a minute how I use it in the classroom: I slap my hand to my forehead and announce in an exhausted voice, “Oh man, all this (fill in the blank) is draining my energy.”  If the behavior has been particularly draining, I might even flop onto the nearest couch or chair and stay there. I even slumped to the ground once with my back to the wall, legs sprawled on the floor.  I could have won an Academy Award that day.

I then follow this dramatic display with an explanation that I can no longer see to their wants.  You want me to refill your sippy cup with apple juice?  You want me to help you find the Frozen DVD so you can watch it for the five thousandth time?

“This is so sad, but Mommy just doesn’t have any energy left since I’ve been listening to you whine  all day.”

The following statement is where the magic happens:

“But maybe if you do something to put my energy back, I would be able to (fill in the blank).”

Now if your children are anything like my children, the first time you do this, they will respond with “thanks, but no thanks”, and move on.  That is, until they realize that you are actually serious.

“Mom, pleeeeeease, can’t you just help me find the Frozen DVD?!”

“Oh man, that does sound like fun, but like I just told you, I don’t have any energy to help you do that.”
After pondering their options for a second, they inevitably respond with:

“Okay, fine.  What do you want me to do?”

It’s usually at this point that trumpets sound and angels sing, because a miracle is occurring.  I then get to choose from a list of chores that need done, and explain that maybe, just maybe, if they take the clothes in the dryer out, and move over the clothes in the washer, that I just may have the strength to dig out that Frozen DVD.

Of course, you can choose any chore you like, just make sure it is something age appropriate, and a chore they aren’t likely to enjoy, and therefore won’t want to repeat.  Because the next time they begin draining your energy, all you will have to say is “Uh-oh, I think I feel an energy drain coming on.  Looks like you might be folding everybody’s underwear again...”  And that should end whatever behavior is draining your energy.

Now, although I say that having an energy drain requires some dramatic acting on your part, that doesn’t mean you are telling a lie.  On the contrary, when my children are whining/tattling/talking back/etc., it truly does drain my energy.  It just calls for some dramatization to really drive home the point.

So how can this transfer to the classroom?  Last year, the energy drain was a beautiful thing for me.  I started out by simply comparing it to a battery, and that every time they were noisy, didn’t follow directions, tattled on one another, caused arguments with one another, and so on, that they would drain a level of my energy.  Since so many of my students play video games, lowering energy levels was a concept they were familiar with.

I even went so far as to draw a battery on my whiteboard, with about 8 different notches.  Any time they did something that drained my energy, I erased a notch.  They knew that once my battery was emptied, that there would be something they were going to miss out on, like, extra recess.  I came across this strategy in early spring, so that was a no brainer.  They were itching to get outside.

The most magical thing occurred one day.  The classroom sounded like a pack of parrots, and I was moving towards the board to erase a notch, when I heard someone shout, “You GUYS!  Be quiet!  We’re going to drain her energy!”  Then, silence.

Dreams do come true.

As I said, energy drains are a perfect go to when you just cannot come up with an appropriate consequence.  It’s simple and effective, which is what I love about it.  Other than coming up with ways for them to restore my energy, it requires no creativity on my part.  Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best!

This is definitely one of my "Favorite Things."

Until next time - see ya real soon!
Allison

Want to find out more about Energy Drains?  Check out this pdf by Dr. Charles Fay from Love and Logic.  You can also check out the book Love and Logic Magic: When Kids Drain Your Energy.