Monday, November 30th, 2009
Well, I saw it coming last night. Taylor went to bed complaining of her stomach/side hurting. She had just finished playing a very active game of Wii Bowling prior to bedtime and she was perfectly fine, so I knew that this was her way of attempting to get out of school today. If I didn’t know her as well as I do, then one would think she was really sick…she’s a pretty good actress! One should give her an Academy Award…she is THAT good! However, she doesn’t fool me!! These challenging mornings usually come about once a week. I can’t afford for Taylor to stay home whenever she has a morning like this because 1- she will think that it is ok, and then it will be a repetitive behavior (every day). 2- Who is going to watch her? I work during the day, and only choose to take off from work when my children are truly sick or for other emergencies. AND 3- She is almost 17 years old, AND this also helps her to understand when we have a responsibility (i.e: work, school, children, etc…it is important that we follow through with what we are supposed to do).
So here is how I handle these mornings. I give Taylor 2 choices. (A non-preferred choice & a preferred choice). These are my exact words: “Taylor you have two choices, You can choose to finish getting ready, go to school, & then you can go with me shopping at Target after school (she loves to go shopping AND she loves Target, because of their $1.00 popcorn). OR you can choose to stay home from school, which means that I will have to call a sitter to come watch you while Jorden, Erin, & I get to go shopping…and who knows what else we will get to do.” I don’t argue with her, I don’t waiver, I simply give her one preferred & one non-preferred choice. And allow her to choose. After doing this with her time and time again, she know that I mean business! Therefore, she knows that I follow through with what I say! I NEVER give her choices that I can’t follow through with. Consistency is truly the key.
You might be wondering what the outcome was. Well, I gave her the two choices, and she continued to argue with me. I simply ignored her. The bus pulled up, and I gave her two minutes. Once I realized that she wasn’t budging I said, “Well, I better tell your bus driver that you aren’t coming…Ah, Man! That’s gonna stink…because I really wanted you to go shopping with me after school, and now you won’t get to go!” I went outside to let the bus driver know the situation…and before you know it…Taylor comes stomping her way towards the bus! She looks at me and screams…and looks me in the eyes and yells, “MY SIDE REALLY HURTS” and makes her way onto the bus. I don’t say a word to her…I tell the bus driver to have a great day, and back into the house I go.
Now, of course I will talk with her after school about her behavior and discuss what she can do better next time, and reward her when she does what I ask her. However, she is learning the process of what is appropriate and inappropriate. Tomorrow is a new morning and I plan on it being a great one!
After Tay got home from school, I talked to her about her morning. The video itself is a little long winded…not sure how I edit the video with my new flip camera…I’m still learning. 
Until next time,
E
(IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT, PLEASE CLICK ON THE PARTICULAR HEADER THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON. COMMENTS WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED)
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.