Am I a bad mom?

Although someone out there may challenge me on this, I believe I have THE MOST head-strong, stubborn, strong-willed child that ever walked the face of this earth. We are talking about my second--of course I'm talking about a girl! Don't get me wrong, I love her heaps and I'm hoping this rock-iron will sticks around clear through any amount of peer pressure, school bullies and teenage boys, BUT can't it just give a little when we are trying to lose teeth?

Alli loves getting loose teeth but loathes losing them. In fact, this is the same girl who, being the dear sweet child that she is, decided to pull her very first tooth by herself--did NOT want help from Mom or Dad. Well, I think it was the spot of blood that oozed from that one tooth that freaked her out.

Earlier this year, her other bottom tooth clung to nothing but a trace of a strand of a tiny piece of gum. Would she pull it out? Would she let us near it? She would rather be flung into a burning building than to let us even so much as an arm-length away.

Months ago she was pleased to report that her two front teeth were officially loose. We congratulated her and encouraged her to keep wiggling them, knowing full-well what lay ahead for all of us. The teeth became loose-enough to pull, and several times we asked her to pull them or if she wanted help pulling them. Once again she invited the lion within her to take over her dominantly sweet demeanor. We are talking neighbors-call-the-cops-on-us-type screams, clenched-jaw, both hands tightly over her mouth and wiggling away from anyone who so much as glanced at her mouth any time throughout the day. She knew what we were up to.

Pretty soon I noticed the top teeth coming down over the bottom teeth. Okay, now I had a shark for a daughter. Still, it didn't bother her. They started to push the smaller teeth out of the way. She wouldn't budge. Even when the baby teeth started to gray and die, she refused to wiggle or even attempt to pull them. In came the threats. I know, every parenting book I've ever read says never to threaten. So I don't deserve the Mother of the Year award. Though I hate to admit it, threats are sometimes the only things that work on my kids. I told her if she didn't pull them or let us pull them, we'd have to take her to the dentist and have him do it.

Sure enough, our 6-month checkup came due and we went into it with the same threat. After her checkup and her free-of-cavities report, the dentist came out to tell me that "those front teeth are way overdue" and they need to come out. I let her hear his words and told her I'd give her the 2 weeks until brother and sister had to come in for fillings to pull her teeth out. I don't think she thought I was serious.

Back to the parenting books. They also say to follow through on what you say.

Two weeks flew by and the drive to the dentist office was an ominous, tear-filled one. Guilt started in when she complained of tummy aches. She was that affected by what was about to happen. Brother and sister were done in a flash and after talking to the dentist and deciding that it really did need to happen, I pulled her toward the chair of doom, through pleading, crying and every amount of deal-making you could imagine. No amount of laughing gas seemed to calm her. The dentist was a genius--she cooperated much better for him than me! All it took was some numbing gel and two small pops and they were out. No shots! This was the result:


So, back to my question--am I a bad mom for making her go through this? Should I feel guilty that throughout her life and into eternity she will have to tell people that she lost her two front teeth by a dentist? Funny thing is, she was elated afterward-she loves having them out! The best part for me is the lithpt that was created in the process. I'm just wondering if we are making it worse for the NEXT go-around. I am sure about one thing. I don't want to wrestle our lion on the next loose tooth. Any takers?