My 9 year old is a good kid. I have to remind myself of this often. Very often.
Lately he's not been paying any attention to me at all. It isn't that I'm not consistent. It isn't that I don't dole out punishments. It's just that he doesn't care enough to listen to me.
I spoke to Mr. Gaia about this and we both agreed that this has to stop NOW. It will only get worse as he gets older. So Mr. Gaia talked to him today. Apparently he listens to Mr. Gaia because he's scared of Mr. Gaia (which does not thrill Mr. Gaia at all), he listens to his grandmother because she's so nice. But I'm not scary enough or nice enough so he ignores me.
Sigh.
Yes my head just exploded.
I'm at a loss. Short of beating him*, I'm not sure how I can scare him. I think the playroom tv may have to go away for a while. They can start doing chores and work in the yard in the time they would normally watch TV.
*For the record, Mr. Gaia does NOT beat the kids, I'm not sure why they're scared of him and not me, unless it's just that they've seen my breaking point and know that even when I've completely lost it, I'm not going to do more than yell at them.
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2 comments:
I'm sorry for this - I've seen it in action, and have seen a little of how frustrating it can be. It seems to be a stage a lot of young men go through.
We've tried Bribery and Corruption on our 6 year old. He too has a wonderful faculty for selective inattention.
Our son gets pocketmoney - if he's good. 3 lots, morning, day, and bedtime.
He's bought one toy, and one icecream so far with his very own money, money he's earnt. He's also had days with reduced or no money at all.
It seems to work. Don't know if it will at age 9 though.
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