Today I took the kids with me to our local exercise group. We used to go all the time, but had to stop for health reasons. Just recently we have started to go again, but now my kids don't remember the rules. While the moms workout in the gym the kids get to play with toys on the blue carpeted overflow next to us. Today my kids were the only little ones there and they decided to push the boundaries.
Rose was supposed to be working on her homework first -two pages in her 1st grade practice book--before she was allowed to play with the toys. This is something that should take 15 minutes max. Yeah by the end of an hour she had lost several privileges and was still forced to finish her two pages. And now she is mad at me because the consequence of her actions was to be grounded from mommy's kindle until after lunch. Oh well.
Cyprus decided to see if he could get away with lining up all the vehicle toys and shoving them out onto the gym floor so he "had" to go get them. Once he was out there then he should get to play right? Yeah, no. He got two time outs (sitting buckled in the double stroller until ready try again).
Now, Juniper is Juniper. He's a three-strikes and you're out kind of kid. He tried escaping out the gym door twice. Then on the third time I stood with him on the carpet and showed him where it was okay to play and that he should not cross the boundary on to the gym floor. So this kid runs up and down the line separating the two rooms and then, while I'm looking directly at him, taps one toe over the line onto the gym floor. He got three time outs which left him in the stroller until the end of class.
I understand that all kids need boundaries and rules, but special needs kids need a clear understanding of them to help regulate their behavior. The goal now is for this tired mommy to stay consistent in enforcing the boundaries so that they do become totally clear.
So here's to trying again tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment