When I drop Miles off in the morning, I always say some variation of the same things: “I love you” and “Have a good day.” Sometimes the latter takes the more direct form of “I want a good report today,” especially after having a bad day at daycare.
I think he’ll be hearing that last one a lot this week.
It was barely lunchtime (!) today when we received an email from daycare outlining a host of transgressions Miles had egregiously committed that morning, including but not limited to:
- Interrupting his teacher because she wasn’t telling a story the way he wanted her to.
- Pushing his classmates because they weren’t dancing the way he wanted them to.
- Pulling his classmates’ hair then sitting on his hands and trying to play it off.
- (and I can’t even believe I’m typing this one) Putting his foot in a friend’s face and saying, “Lick my toes.”
My immediate response (after seeing that fourth one) was, “Oh lord…they’ve GOT to think we’re some sort of freaks…” This quickly gave way, however, to a swelling desire to drop the proverbial hammer. Miles is capable of having (and typically does have) good days at daycare. He gets a little rowdier at home, but I always expect more boundary pushing with us then he’d exhibit in a structured environment among peers. Today was the first time I’ve said, “That DOES it.”
And so the time has at last come to implement a strong reward system at home linked to appropriate behaviors and…SIGH…not trying to force people to lick your feet. With his school Easter egg hunt and a weekend trip to visit his friend Audrey both imminent, he’ll either turn things around quickly or learn some harsh lessons about consequences.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 