Sometimes it seems like Jack and I just really butt heads. And since we don't beat our kids it sometimes makes it hard for me. Not that I want to beat him or anything but Jack can be frustrating. Common example: Jack is doing something that is destructive or against some rule and he won't stop. I tell him to stop and he smiles and keeps going or increases his pace and ferocity in whatever endeavor that he has been told to stop. Time outs are sometimes the answer, but these sometime seem less than effective. Or maybe I just want to mix it up so I tell him he is going to have a toy put into "toy timeout". This is when Jack becomes suddenly very helpful. At least in one regard, he gives me suggestions as to what toy to put into timeout.
Tonight he said I could put his Lightning McQueen car in timeout. I said no, that I was instead thinking about putting the Leapster in time out. He said, "Sure, I don't really like the Leapster anymore". This is not true, he loves the Leapster. But he is trying to win or save face by saying that he doesn't care what I do. I told him once that he would not be able to watch TV if he didn't stop doing something or another and he said the same basic thing--"that's OK Daddy, I don't like to watch TV too much." He says all of this very calmly and happily most of the time. His helpfulness is exactly what I don't like and he knows it. I am used to Ryan who will cry or feel bad if he is punished. Jack, at least sometimes, could not care less.
I go ahead and put the stuff in time out and he blows it off. They have lots of other toys after all. Tonight I found his Achilles Heel, the Batman costume. He looooovves that costume. He wears it or wants to wear it everyday. Tonight he was being noisy in bed and I told him that if he kept it up that the Batman costume was going into toy timeout. He paused and said that it couldn't go into toy time out, but was I going to put it into costume timeout? Yes, I told him it was going into costume timeout. He was quiet and would have gone to sleep soon had not Ryan been messing around a little while afterwards. Still, it was a minor thing. They are both out now.
I don't know for how long I can milk the costume timeout thing, but it seems like a winner for now.
Bridget says that he butts heads much more with me than with her. I think it is because she beats them and I don't....kidding again. But it is true. I am not sure what it is. But he is a good kid and he and I did have some fun today going to Five Guys and so forth.
Oh, and I downloaded a Clone Wars episode off of Itunes tonight. It was pretty cool. It was the first time I have seen any of those computer animated Star Wars shows. They only last a little over 20 minutes each, but the one we saw was sweet. The boys were impressed as Yoda kicked some serious booty. Thumbs up.
Ramblings of some of the happenings in our family viewed from the perspective of Mr. and Mrs. Flynn.
3 comments:
Melissa, our second, is our more difficult one too. She's a good manipulator as well, but she can be very sweet. I heard some really good advice on the Bonnie Hunt Show the other day. Bonnie Hunt's mom said she gave her kids "time-ins" wth mom or dad. So when the kid does something destructive, they had to sit with mom and read a few pages in a book. You'd have to adjust it to younger kids somehow. But I love the toy/costume timeout. That was pretty clever. And a good beating never hurt no one never.
Costume time out! I love it!
well, good luck with that one. parenting is hard. there's never one answer - that lasts. you're always having to change techniques. still, i think you guys are great parents.
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