So, does anyone have a surefire way to discipline a 3 and 5 year old? Looking for tried and true, guaranteed results.
No?
Yeah, we’ve been having issues lately. Nothing major, just trying the patience of our parents, teachers, etc. Little things that, taken individually, would be easy to ignore, but when a teacher mentions “regressing” we may have a problem.
Yesterday was M’s day. He hid in the bathroom because another classmate “told him to.” Then he had to sit out circle time with his head down because he was talking. Why was he talking? Because another classmate was talking too. Of course.
Today was C’s day. He was described as the class clown during lunch (but, not hot lunch). He was apparently using his straw to beat on things and then proceeded to take his chair apart. We can get no explanation for the chair and we’re still not quite sure what it was he was actually doing (the story came from one teacher to another to our nanny to us).
We questioned him tonight (after being barraged by M as soon we came through the door, “C was a bad boy, C was in trouble!”). He, of course, denied everything. The look on his face when we started telling him what we already knew was fairly priceless, though. So, no story on the chair, the straw was different.
I would have preferred no story on the straw either.
It started out normal enough. He was using his straw to drum on things. But he sat there, serious and innocent. Did he spill his milk? No. Did you spit things? No, again. A jury would be convinced. Then, he started to talk.
He was playing the drums, because of the drum visions.
Wait. What?
“The drum visions? You know, when they come, and everything looks like a drum?” He starts drumming his fingers on his eyes, then waving them around in the air. “I had drum visions. And I had to play. You know the drum visions?”
He’s five. It’s way too early to be experimenting with drugs, right? Maybe? I don’t think they have a sweat lodge at his school. But, we have drum visions.
I have not bit my lips that hard in a long time. K completely failed and ended up doubled over laughing on the couch. Meanwhile, C continued to demonstrate “drum visions” to us making it nearly impossible to catch a breath, nevermind discipline him.
Okay, how do you top that?