Shifting Gears

As many of you know, Eoin is very strong-willed. It is often very difficult to get him to do things when asked, or for that matter do things when not asked. He has the type of personality where he knows what he wants and he will take any measure to get that, which reminds me of somebody else eh hmm... I don't particularly think that this is a bad quality by any means, it is just a tough quality to parent. I have been trying to be a stern parent but it just insn't working out. It creates bad moods and makes Eoin's not wanting to do something even worse because it is me telling him to do it. I have taken a step back and looked at it through his eyes. I need to remind myself that before 7 months ago it was just Eoin, no Emmi. I am still nursing Emmi and she still is just a baby, therefore it takes a lot of time and attention away from Eoin. He doesn't ever say anything about it and he is never mad at Emmi or anything but I am slowly seeing that he needs more attention. I get frustrated with him for pretty much the same reason everytime, not listening, and not doing simple tasks when asked to do them. The result is me raising my voice, counting to 3 and him getting TV taken away because he didn't end up doing it. Taking a step back now and seeing things from his perspective I realize that he just wants attention. By him not doing something, he gets attention. I will have empathy for Eoin and show him the attention that he deserves and we will see if there is a diference in his "moods". Eoin really isn't a bad kid by any means, he doesn't hit people, he isn't verbally mean to people, he isn't like trying to start fires or anything, he is just a strong-willed child who needs attention.