Oh? It’s Just a Phase? You Promise?

 Parenting  12 Responses »
Mar 252009
 

Back when BigBrother was two, I would lament the tantrums and whining and general awfulness of the Terrible Twos. Seasoned parents would look at me, laugh and say, “Just wait until he’s three.” I thought, “What the heck could be worse than this?” Certainly nothing was worse than the time he threw himself on the floor in a restaurant because I couldn’t understand what he wanted to eat. (It was at that point that we stopped visiting restaurants until he exited the Terrible Twos.) Certainly nothing was worse than fearing to leave the house because of what we knew would happen.

Oh, the naivety of parenting for the first time.

Three has been… different. The public tantrums are minimal. He knows my serious voice. He knows my serious look. Reminding him of the rules that we discussed on the way to the restaurant, coffee shop, store or any public place usually gets him to calm down. That’s all fine and dandy. In fact, being in public isn’t the issue that it once was as he likes people to shower him with compliments and, as such, is usually a gem in public. A loud gem but a gem all the same.

The issue with three, however, is that it brings different challenges. Challenges that test my patience more than a kicking, screaming, hitting tantrum in front of my grandparents. (Though, that’s pretty darn mortifying, yes.) The issues we’re currently having are: supreme negotiation and absolute ignoring. The former I can handle as I’m pretty good at negotiating myself. It is the latter that has driven me insane this past week.

To the point that I googled “why is my three year old ignoring me?” To the point that I asked his preschool teacher to pay attention to him yesterday at school to see if he was having an active hearing problem due to a few ear infections since starting said preschool. To the point that I cried in the bathroom the other day.

By the way, the teacher said his hearing is just fine. When he wants to hear, that is.

My googling, of course, brought me to some other blogging laments about the beginnings of ignoring which apparently start at three and either do or don’t end. Maybe it’s more a phase that comes and goes. Gosh, I hope it goes. It is a phase, isn’t it? Like this blogger, we have tried talking louder. That doesn’t work. In fact, FireDad tried whispering at him yesterday, hoping that it would force him to pay more attention. That didn’t work either.

So what is a parent to do? Remember, we were just told that he’s mannerly at school. And it’s really not mannerly to ignore people, parents or otherwise. So, how do we teach him that ignoring isn’t nice? I suppose I could use some reverse psychology and ignore him but that just creates whining and, well, I’m not a fan of whining. It’s also somewhat frustrating as LittleBrother is currently in a repeating phase so there’s never any quiet coming from his mouth. Different phases can be confusing. One is always talking. One is silent. What to do, what to do?

I should just start negotiating with him.

If only he’d listen.

Are You Following the Burn Ban in Ohio?

 FireFamily Gets Serious  3 Responses »
Mar 232009
 

It’s Spring! I have sprouts. Our trees have buds. And the temperatures finally went back to something resembling the season of growth. Do you know what else this is a the season for? Wildfires in Ohio. I’m serious. Do you know what causes the more than 1,000 wildfires in Ohio each year? Careless, open burning. (And arson, of course. But that’s a topic of another post.) To boot, did you know that there is a ban on open burning right now? That’s right.

Open-burning is particularly dangerous in the spring and fall, when the leaves are on the ground, the grass is not green and the weather is warm, dry and windy. As a result, open burning in Ohio is prohibited in unincorporated areas in March, April, May, October, and November, 6 am to 6 pm.

A few weeks ago, my husband’s department had a large number of brush fires on their hands. In the month of March while the burn ban was in place during prohibited hours. Why? Sadly, not many people know about the ban or understand what and where burning is still allowed. That’s why sites like Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources are so awesome. It spells out in pretty easy to understand language that you simply cannot burn much of anything between the hours of 6pm and 6am during these months. If you are needing to burn the land for reasons like vegetation regeneration, you actually need to have it approved first. If you don’t, a wildfire that could not only endanger your property but people’s lives.

A brief look at other states shows me that we’re not alone in this one. As an example, West Virginia only lets you burn between the hours of 4pm and 7am. That begs the question: does your state have a burn ban in place? Some states are like Ohio and have specific months every year with limitations on burning. Other states watch things like air quality and weather and issue burn bans for specific counties as the need arises. Do you know how your state mandates burn bans? You can do a quick google search by entering “burn ban” and your state’s name to find out pertinent information. Of course, there’s an even easier way to go about it: simply call your local fire department. Whether they are a paid or a volunteer department, they will be able to give you the information that you need that will keep you, your neighbors and, in the end, those same firefighters safest with regard to this topic.

Please be safe. While it’s been rather chilly here, it’s also been relatively dry. Do your part and clean up the leaves and other debris. Keep your burning set to appropriate hours and on days without wind. And pass on the word to others about the burn ban or information that is pertinent to your state. We can all do our part to keep wildfires at a minimum this year.

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