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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To get the rage when my kids bash into my body repeatedly.

160 replies

bordellosboheme · 10/05/2019 19:05

My youngest who is 3 is the worst offender. Often it involved whacking me in the knees or body slamming me on his way past, but often even the gentlest brushes past me start to give me the rage after a while. I enjoy being in work as I can guarantee I will not be bashed into for a whole day. AIBU?

OP posts:
bluebeck · 11/05/2019 23:52

This sounds absolutely awful - I have sore knees and my ds kept whacking a wooden chair into my knees just now.... WTAF???

You poor thing!

I have to admit I have never experienced anything like this. YANBU but I don't really understand how this situation has arisen tbh. Flowers

Femodene · 12/05/2019 00:06

Can yous not get them to not behave like this? Doesn’t matter if they’re being ‘nice’ or ‘don’t know they’re doing it’? How can anyone bear it?

ElphabaTheGreen · 12/05/2019 07:11

Yes, Femodene, it’s dead easy to deal with but we’re choosing not to because we’re indulgent mothers and secretly love the pounding.

Actually read what people are saying and have tried to do. And please tell me ‘yous’ was a typo...

I fight so many things that have longer consequences all day

And there is also this. There are certain behaviours like the nipple biting/twisting which they will grow out of (been there done that got the medal), and your limited reserves are better spent on getting them not to pull the dog’s tail, eat something that is slightly out of the beige spectrum, not put a hand in the pretty flame on the hob, not climb into the washing machine...it’s called picking your battles.

mirime · 12/05/2019 11:36

DS is six and seems to be finally stopping the running at me and hurling himself on me. He still hugs me from behind while digging his sharp chin into my shoulder, and manages to randomly poke me with his elbow when sitting on the sofa. He seems genuinely sorry, which is nice, but argh.

His latest is to try and climb on my back at every opportunity to have a piggy back. He also really likes bringing the cats to sit on me. Yesterday morning he managed to dig his chin into my shoulder, put his foot in my mouth and headbutt me in the nose, plus assorted elbowings. None were deliberate, but when he wanted to go out with DH, I swiftly volunteered to stay home and do the housework, and I never volunteer to do that Shock

Sockworkshop · 12/05/2019 13:59

Elpha
Dont be snotty .
Yous is either a typo or local dialect.

If you are so worn down that you would sit while a child bites or twists your nipple then I think you must need help Flowers

miri I just dont understand why you are tolerating this .
Seriously its not on that a 6 year old is hurting you .

NameChangerAmI · 12/05/2019 16:03

ElphabaTheGreen

There are certain behaviours like the nipple biting/twisting which they will grow out of (been there done that got the medal), and your limited reserves are better spent on getting them not to pull the dog’s tail

Why oh why would you wait for a child to grow out of this? It is possible to teach a child not twist your nipples and also not pull on a poor dog's tail. Surely it's one and the same message - your actions can hurt others, do not cause pain. If you cause pain, there will be consequences.

You certainly deserve the same amount of respect as your dog. Some parents' way of looking at things are so fucking skewed as to be wet.

Letting your child think it's OK to hurt you / a dog/ another human being or any animal is just very poor and bat shit crazy parenting!

By not addressing it, you're giving a child the message that it's acceptable, surely?

It’s called picking your battles.

Pick your battles wisely - letting your child physically hurt you, whilst waiting for that child to grow out of it, isn't choosing the battles, it's letting the child dictate to the parent.

CheshireChat · 12/05/2019 18:20

But a lot of the examples are accidents, kids are less coordinated which is simply a fact and you can't shriek and impose consequences every time they do something minor as they'll end up dreading getting close to you.

So when DS trapped my hair this morning and apologised straight away I consider that's the matter closed, whereas some posters seem to think further consequences are needed.

Femodene · 12/05/2019 18:45

Elphaba nope, wasn’t a typo, it’s a common word in my dialect. HTH.
Waiting till your kid ‘grows out of’ twisting your nipples 😂😂😂😂

Sockworkshop · 12/05/2019 18:47

Of course tiny DC accidently hair pull ( tie up hair) or pull on shiny things ( remove earrings).
Older DC particularly once at school have to learn that they cant go around hurting people.
So no I didnt have to shriek Hmm at mine.

PotolBabu · 12/05/2019 19:04

You don’t have to shriek at them but you can stop so much of the behaviour women are tolerating on this thread. I am astounded. Do we think ourselves to be fair game for this stuff? You’ll note that kids don’t do it to others even to their dads. They seem to think their mums are fair game. Why? Because they are told, consciously or otherwise that it’s ok. Nipple twisting, biting, slapping on the bum repeatedly, I mean it’s just crazy.
As I said, I have a toddler. He does fling himself at me, likes running his hand through my hair, having a close look at my belly button, chatting with me while I am in the toilet. But if he ever hurt me, even accidentally, I would make it clear that wasn’t on and certainly wouldn’t wait for him to ‘grow out of it.’

shitpark · 12/05/2019 19:31

I can not eat a snack, or have a hot drink when my kids are home I'm sat here now squashed into a corner of the sofa, ds (7) is pushing himself into me and kicking repeatedly while singing Thomas tank engine themes tune I a high pitched and loud loud voice.

Sockworkshop · 12/05/2019 19:43

Potol
Totally agree
Im horrified by this thread and again why would you sit there while your son kicks you ?shitpark

Fizzysours · 12/05/2019 19:51

If all these families are horrifying we would have a much higher crime rate!!! Perhaps the horrified crew just have very passive kids? I think this post is hilarious. Omg my kids respected NO personal space boundaries of mine EVER yet not once did we have issues with school or others..I think this stuff is normal if maddening

PetrichorRain · 12/05/2019 19:57

Oh God, thank god it’s not just me. DS constantly wants to be sitting on me or touching me or climbing on me, he frequently hurts me because he’s a clumsy 4 year old, and frankly sometimes I just want to push him off and run away screaming “Stop TOUCHING me!” The worst is when he climbs into bed with me and DH in the morning, and spends an hour squirming and wriggling on me, until I get sick of it and make him get out, then nearly always DH swarms over onto me for a cuddle. Like, I’ve just got rid of one limpet, the last thing I want is another! And the bloody cats are as bad.

theworldistoosmall · 12/05/2019 20:08

Accidental stuff ok, as parents and people we deal with it. It's accidental.
Nipple twisting, kicking repeatedly, bashing chairs into knees. Not a chance. Tell them no. Remove objects. Remove them or yourself. Emphasise the oww that really hurts.
Worked wonderfully here. Took longer with eldest because of his autism etc, but we worked through it.
I don't care who you are, I am not your personal punching bag.

Sockworkshop · 12/05/2019 20:11

Fizzy
Its really not hilarious .
Adolescent violence to parents has doubled since 2012.
77% of those parents are women.
87% of the adolescents are male .
Lack of boundaries/ role modelling is cited as the primary cause along with witnessing DV.Guardian 2018 ( shit phone I cant link)

My DC are not passive ,one of mine is dyspraxic and is very clumsy.
He doesnt hurt me.

AnnaComnena · 12/05/2019 20:27

I'm sat here now squashed into a corner of the sofa, ds (7) is pushing himself into me

So why not just say 'move up a bit please ds, you're squashing me'?

ElphabaTheGreen · 12/05/2019 20:49

To be clear mine are long past nipple biting and twisting at four and six years old.

And, re-reading the thread, NOT ONE SINGLE POSTER has said they let their children get away with anything - I and others have clearly stated exactly what we have done in response to certain behaviours, in fact, but not necessarily with the miraculous resolution that some of you seem to think it will bring about. And Potol I quite clearly said in one of my posts that my two are just as rough with my DH so park your bizarre theory that only mothers receive/put up with rough behaviour.

What is not needed, or sometimes possible given the million other things you have to deal with as a parent, is escalation of discipline for every repeat infraction. What CheshireCat said basically. Nipple twisting/biting is the obvious example - that’s the behaviour of an older baby/young toddler. You can do exactly three things, and ALL of the posters here have done them - pull hand away, firm no (usually a loud yelp in the case of biting), put them down. This works quickly to stop this behaviour for some, obviously. It doesn’t work for others (didn’t for me), but as long as you consistently respond like this it really doesn’t matter because they grow out of it. There are far too many other exhausting issues to deal with, with far more serious consequences, than to waste your energies on devising heightened punishments for something they they naturally outgrow in a matter of months.

In terms of picking battles, I don’t accept for one second that you check every single aspect of your child’s behaviour. I just don’t - it’s too exhausting and doesn’t work anyway as behaviour modification is give and take. You tolerate certain negative behaviours as they may facilitate other more desirable behaviours. Take the example of my four year old hanging himself over my shoulders while I put his shoes on that I mentioned in my first post. It drives me Bat. Shit. But getting his shoes on means I need to be getting out the door. Prior to putting on his shoes, I will have to have nagged him and his brother repeatedly to put away their Lego, nagged them to put their snack rubbish in the bin, nagged them to get coats, nagged them to get the right kit ready for whatever activity we’re headed for, then chased DS2 around the house to actually get him close enough to get his shoes on. As long as it keeps him close enough to me to get the job done so we can get going, and because I’ve had enough of being the fishwife mum by that point, I put up with the infuriating draping. I really don’t think that’s negligent parenting or dooming him to a life of delinquency.

PetrichorRain · 12/05/2019 21:01

I seem to spend half my life saying, “DS, be CAREFUL! You just hurt mummy” but it’s not it’s not like he’s doing it on purpose. He’s clumsy and lungeous. If I shouted at him every time he crowded me or swarmed me, I’d never stop shouting, and that’s not the kind of mum I was not to be, tbh. I think if he have malleable gentle passive children, you just don’t understand. You may think it’s your wonderful parenting but believe me, it isn’t.

DS has thrown 3 or 4 tantrums in his life, and never once outside. Never screamed in the supermarket, never laid on the floor at preschool, never embarrassed me at friends’ houses. I don’t kid myself it’s my amazing parenting though - I have enough sense and humility to realise that’s just the kind of child he is. I suggest some of you smuggoes commenting above follow my example and try some humility instead, you might not feel quite as superior but you’ll be better liked.

GenevaMaybe · 12/05/2019 21:07

I would like to know the correlation between people who accept this type of behaviour, and people who accepted terrible sleep in their children.
Like, utter resignation to being exhausted and also a kind of punch bag. Because of “picking your battles”.

PetrichorRain · 12/05/2019 21:08

FFS with the autocorrect typos.

It’s the not the kind of mum I WANT to be...

I think if YOU have malleable....

PetrichorRain · 12/05/2019 21:10

Geneva no correlation at all in my case, DS has slept through in his own bed since he was 6 months old, nightmares and illness excepted.

And what a judgemental snide thing to say. Why didn’t you just ask if we’re all shit parents, since that’s obviously what you think?

Bluefargo · 12/05/2019 21:10

@Snooks1971 my god the elbows!!!! Like the sharpest little knives and always right on the boob or somewhere equally sensitive!

ElphabaTheGreen · 12/05/2019 21:19

Mine were horrific sleepers, Geneva, but I didn’t ‘accept’ it - I had no choice. Sleep training (which I tried repeatedly to point of borderline abuse with DS1) did not work until they were around 18 months old, because, in hindsight, they just weren’t developmentally ready to sleep long stretches until then.

What a shitty, insensitive, smug thing to say.

ElphabaTheGreen · 12/05/2019 21:29

I think if you have malleable gentle passive children, you just don’t understand. You may think it’s your wonderful parenting but believe me, it isn’t.

Exactly Petrichor.