mommy needs a time-out

Alice has been keeping the time-out chair fairly warm these days. I don't know if it is a) her age b) her natural sense of a strong will or c) my lack of consistency, but she is really REALLY fighting for the alpha position in the house. We went to the library the other day and she had a complete meltdown. It started off when she couldn't, just wouldn't give the nice library worker her book to check out. I kept trying to explain nicely that all she had to do was give the man her book and she would get it back right away, but she would have none of it. We finally got out of there and she started a big tantrum on the street. In the middle of a crosswalk, actually, flinging her CAT IN THE HAT book at my head. Nice.

When we got home, I told her she was not going to get to read her new books and instead had to have a time-out. She reluctantly went to sit on the chair and started to cry her eyes out. And cry. And cry. When I went to her after a few minutes to ask her if she was ready to say sorry for hitting me, she said (amidst the tears) "no - I think I need more time out."

I didn't really know what to do with that, so I kind of said "uh...ok. You can have more time out." She kept herself in the corner for about 30 minutes longer before she got down and said she was ready to apologise. It was like she actually needed the time out to decompress from the tantrum - as if she recognised that herself.

I think I need my own time out chair. One that I can send myself when I feel out of control and bowled over by other people's expectations. And then if anyone asks if I am ready to go on with the daily crud of life, I can say "oh no - I think I need more time-out here."