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Thursday, March 13, 2014

I Hate Four O'Clock

“By four o'clock, I've discounted suicide in favor of killing everyone else in the entire world instead.” ― Warren Ellis

I have a deep, philosophical question this morning. Why is the hour of four o'clock the very worst hour of the day for my child? This has been so since she was an infant. Like clockwork, I could count on her crying a blue streak from 4 until her daddy walked in the door, every afternoon. We would pace the track in front of the sliding door that looked out to where Dad would come walking toward our apartment, with me bouncing and singing and trying to entertain her, but nothing worked until he came in.

You would think that, at almost four years old, this old pattern would not hold true, what with nap schedules having changed dramatically since then, but 'tis absolutely the same. Whether or not she has a good nap, whenever in the afternoon it is, she is still a crabbycakes from four o'clock until I set dinner on the table.

Picking Daddy up from the bus stop does not at all improve her mood, in fact, he gets treated to the worst of her behavior all the way home, a lovely end to a long day at work, I'm sure. I even try to coach the child to be nice to him, but to no avail. He gets screamed at and hit all the way home, and I imagine if he sat up front with me, she would simply wail the whole ride.

I know one friend puts her boys in the bathtub during this evil hour and it has solved her problem, but I don't have that option, I have to pick up my husband and make dinner, that's just our schedule. I used to, and sometimes still do, give her a popsicle right when she wakes up from her nap to try and cheer her up, but the happiness from that treat only lasts as long as the sugar is present.

Do you have a witching hour at your house? And what do you do to calm the savage beast?

Even the addition of a silly hat did not improve things yesterday.

1 comment:

  1. We do! The big one has ALWAYS done it - the little one is perpetually perky so we don't have that issue with him. If it's exceptionally bad I use a show he loves so he zombies out or the iPad or send him up to the playroom. Gotta do what ya gotta do.

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