The Tickle Monster

I'm pretty sure that most people have heard of the tickle monster.  Lately. it has become my most valuable parenting resource...and I'm being completely serious.  With my husband being gone, my oldest child, Little P, can have quite the attitude.  Now, I know that whining and attitudes just come with the age but they are only tolerated to a minimal extent in our home.  Now, little P is a sensetive little soul.  He can really get his feelings hurt and sad pretty quickly so I've had to find new ways of reaching him...enter the tickle monster.

Everytime he goes into one of his 'attitude tackovers' where he is just going to be mad for the sake of being mad,  I just tell him that if he doesn't lose it the tickle monster will attack.  I then count to three and if he hasn't lost the attitude I just start tickling.  More than anything, I just like to break that 'attitudenal shell'. When he is protected by that, I won't get anywhere with him and the cycle will continue but if I can get him giggling and laughing, I can at least get him to a place where he will talk normally. 

Its funny, as I figure these different tactics out with my kiddos, I start seeing them in myself.  When I'm irritated, I do the same thing.  I cloak myself in a 'shell' of irritation and EVERYBODY is going to know about it.  I guess I should start telling my kids to bring out the tickel monster if they see me doing the same thing.  Oh, the power of silliness!