Today's tally: hair pulled = 3 times. bites that broke the skin = 2 times (through jeans and through a sweater; really I didn't expect the bites to be that strong). glasses pulled off face = 2 times. glasses almost broken = 1 time. face smacked > 5 times. face punched = 12 times. told to shut up = 6783 times. head made contact with doll = 1 time.
My successes: she took almost all of her medicine this morning. she cleaned up the bit of her medicine that she squirted on her bedroom floor. (by the way, prednisilone is sticky if you only wipe it up with a paper towel. water is a better choice.) I figured out that if I get her to talk about holding her breath while she is taking her inhaler, she can't actually hold her breath (so she got some of that medication at least). she did her homework and let me tell her the instructions. I ignored the multiple times that she told me that her daddy told her that she can "f*ck me up."
My failures (aside from the above): the light over the dining room table is now ON the dining room table. we didn't get her topical medication applied. she is sleeping in shoes (which are on the wrong feet). she is sleeping on the sofa instead of in her room (after repeated -- calm -- requests for her to sleep in her room). she ate only half an apple and a bite of applesauce since she left school.
I'm drained. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. I don't know how I am going to get up in the morning and do this again.
I hope today is better and that Sabrina will be getting the extra help she needs soon, because that should help YOU!
ReplyDeletePLEASE tell the caseworker Sabrina's instructions from her dad. If her family is actually telling her that, visitation needs to be supervised and/or reduced and/or cut off (or if she's going to go home to them, get it over with.) If it's true, and I can't imagine a 4-year old would have the cleverness to make that up, they are manipulating her, and that's going to really screw her up.
ReplyDeleteWherestheparty: I did put dad's "instructions" in my email to the social worker. Maybe I didn't emphasize them enough? I do think it's a possibility that she has heard the phrase before and IS clever enough to put it together with a "My Daddy say." She probably is trying to get me to smacktalk her family. I have said that sometimes grown-ups say things wrong (when she told me that her daddy says "shut up") but that we still shouldn't say them.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the social worker is picking her up from school tomorrow to have a visit with mom, and then we will have a chat.
That's true - unfortunately, there are 4-year olds who are more 'clever' (insidious?) than I want to believe. I'm curious to see how the case worker views it. (Like, will CW do anything about it, if she absolutely doesn't have to yet?)
ReplyDeleteI hope you are right!
The social worker will definitely do something. How can I say this so confidently? Because I just spoke with the GAL. (Why oh why did I forget that I could call the GAL? Oh well, next time I'll remember.) And she knew names and knew that there is a new practice of getting kids mental health screenings when they come into care, and said she would call not only the social worker and her supervisor, but also the government attorney if need be. Love her.
ReplyDelete