Simple Saturday

Simple Saturday

Well, Almost...
Adam (son) and I had a wonderfully quiet morning. We did next to nothing. It was great. We did finally manage to drag ourselves out for a long promised Cheeseburger and fries. Afterwards we visited some friends, where Adam had a young boy to play with. He did well, until later in the evening. Then he defiantly wanted to play by himself.

Well, that is when a Dad has to be a Father. He had to learn what appropriate behavior is when he is a guest. This is the part of being a Dad that really ... sucks. The short story is, when Adam became defiant and I counted out (1,2,3). At three, he looses something. Tonight it was his TV and computer rights for the evening. This hits him pretty hard. He then started an earnest attempt to show Dad that he was not defiant... however; at that point, I had given my word and had to preserve my credibility with him. I had to stick by it so that he would never want to let it get to that stage again. If I didn’t, the danger is he would intuitively know that he can be defiant and still weasel out of the consequences. I don’t want him to learn THAT lesson. So instead, we suffered through a tearfully sad ride home. I gave him some distance for 15 minutes and then called him up to his room. We talked about when and where he could get his TV/Computer/Gameboy rights back. I also made it clear that Adam had to be happy Adam, not Mad Adam. Then the rest of the time before bed, he sat next to me and touched my hair and face.

There is a point where disciplining a child is so very difficult. But it is at that point that a parent decides whether they want to be liked (and manipulate-able) or Steady and Trust worthy. I don’t think there is a more important gift you can give them than being a parent they CAN completely trust and respect.

I think I will write more on this.....