Uber is a great thing in an unexpected way for parenting.
Sometimes Cambria gets very adamant about not leaving somewhere or not getting in her car seat. This can be a bit of a challenge. We used to just wait her out (10-30 minutes), since there wasn’t many other cards to play in this scenario. However, a couple of months ago we tried a different strategy that has worked great.
We are at a restaurant for a lunch birthday thing and afterwards we wanted to go, but Cambria didn’t want to be cooperative (this has a lot to do with her being tired in the early afternoon). So, I told her I didn’t want to wait, and I was just going to get an Uber so I didn’t have to wait. After waiting for a couple of more minutes I requested an Uber and got a ride home that way. Rose stayed with the kids and was willing to wait out Cambria.
We weren’t shaming or jerky. We tried to be patient, but this is a scenario that was ultra frustrating because we had no options. When I got the ride from Uber, she got really upset (which is reasonable), and she got in her seat and came home. When she got home we talked for a while about her feelings and my feelings. That it was reasonable for her to feel upset, but it is also reasonable for me not to want to wait for a long time to get in her seat when I want to go home.
Since then, it hasn’t been an issue. Sometimes we wait for a short while and work with her… but when she gets very strong feelings and doesn’t want to regard us, I tell her that I want to go home and I will soon get an Uber. She doesn’t want that, so she gets in her seat and we go home.
I think there are ways to do this that I think could be unkind. If someone does this in a shaming way, I think it could be kind of crumby. However, if you are still patient and kind through the process … this is an amazing strategy.
