Kids Say the Darnest things...

So, Christmas break was too long for miss A to be idle and without constant focus and input. After Christmas her behavior went downhill. She was kicking, hitting, screaming, and pretty much making every day with her a nightmare. I thought, for a moment, I might be raising a sociopath because of her hateful behavior. I was worried.
Luckily, her dear dad has a degree in psychology and a book called "Raising the Strong-Willed Child" which helped us correct some of our behaviors and mixed messages which were causing some of the issues. We quickly changed and started taking every toy of hers away whenever she misbehaved. After a few more unbearable days, she started getting the message; however, she started getting hopeless at ever earning her toys back.

We implemented Audrey-bucks. She could earn one whenever she followed the rules for a bit and when she did something more than was asked of her. That was really the moment she gained control back. She is now at a 5:1 earned to loss ration. We can now reason with her and help her learn and make better choices.

So, the other day when she slammed a door in anger, I calmly walked upstairs to talk to her. Here is the conversation:
"Audrey, what did you do wrong?"
"I slammed the door."
"Why don't we do that?"
"We might break the door."

"Yes. What might have been a better way to deal with your anger?"

Pause to think.

"Uhhh...I don't know, walk away and hate you quietly?"

Mom's heart on the floor.

"Wow. I wish you wouldn't hate me, but I can't help how feel Audrey. As long as you don't slam doors or break any rules, you can feel however you need to."
"Ok, I won't slam the doors."

I walked out of the room and part of me wanted to cry and the wanted to burst out laughing. While part of me was a little disappointed, the other was pretty impressed at her mature thought.

While she will take great effort to corral and mold; the rewards will be great with this one. She is a wild one with a heart of gold!