April 14

I think I had a pretty good parenting day today. The phone situation with Robin is getting to a boiling point because she has retreated so far into it that she won’t go out with friends or even come out of her room, where she closes her blackout blinds and literally lives in darkness. I won’t tolerate it and I won’t give extra time for any reason, which made her extremely angry. She sulked through food shopping without a word, even when asked direct questions. Finally I compromised and told her she could have the time on two conditions: She could only use it to find drawings to copy, and she had to draw outside, with me, in sunlight. She actually agreed and even smiled. She perked up almost immediately. And then we made pretzel animals, which she also loved and came out of her room for. Those were Christina’s favorite parts of the day, and mine too. I keep hearing in my head that no matter how hard it gets, I have to stick to my guns with the phone limits and working Robin out of her personal cavern. I feel like her life depends on it. And it IS hard. I just want to see her smile. Limiting phone time and pushing her out of her comfort zone doesn’t do that. But I think it will do it in the (maybe very) long term. Anyway, I’m glad we had a good day.