You get what breed

First let me say, I am not perfect.  I make mistakes ... usually multiple times a day.  But something has been bugging me a lot lately and has made me reflect on myself and how I am as a mother.  I know two different moms that have out of control children, and I believe that they set themselves up for a tough situation. 

Both moms routinely call their kids negative names (not curse words), but names like "Devil boy", "Little Monster", "P.I.T.A" - ok, so the last one is curse words. (Pain in the a$$ in case you didn't know that one)  I asked both moms why they do this and they said that their boys are out of control and don't listen.  Even when I pointed out that they have become what their moms expect of them, both said "oh just wait, your daughter will become just as bad."

Well I hope not.  I think that by POSITIVELY reinforcing children they can be well adjusted.  Now, that is not to say I don't call my daughter names that are not on her birth certificate.  But lets look at some of these:

Little Miss Bedhead - This seems odd, but for someone with as short of hair as she has, she can root around enough when she is asleep to create some amazingly difficult bedhead to deal with.  I sometimes take pictures of it to showcase her ability!

Miss Sassy Pants - She is not lacking in personality.  Actually she is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen.  And I am not the only one that thinks this.    With all this personality comes sassiness.  It is who she is.  She crinkles her nose and snorts, moves her face to right in front of yours to get your attention then giggles, things like this.  She knows how to get a smile and does her little tricks to get the smile or laugh she wants.

Stinkerpants - This may seem negative, until you realize I call her this when she has a LOADED diaper.  Everyone poops - it is a natural process.  It isn't a degraded thing I say 24/7... and it is said jokingly.  Whenever I am calling her this, she is giggling... it almost like she lies in wait for me to discover the surprise she has for me then giggles when I tease her about it.

And of course there are the uplifting ones:
Angel - She is our little gift from God.

Sweetie - Again, happy baby.  Sweet hearted kid

Pumpkin - She was born in October.  I looked like I had swallowed the Great Pumpkin when I was about to deliver her.  She has been my little pumpkin since before she was born.

Cuddlebug - My little angel loves to snuggle.  I think if she could get someone to carry her everywhere she might allow it to happen... that is until she wants to get down and play.

So my hope is that my positive reinforcement of my daughter leads to more angelic than demonic behavior.  Don't get me wrong, my daughter isn't all sugar and spice all the time, but she is more sweet than bitter!