My son has been having some issues at preschool. Today, when I picked him up, I noticed the teacher trying to help him put on his jacket. He didn't see me standing in the hall, but I saw him take his coat from his teacher's hands, then throw it on the floor. When she tried to hand it to him a second time, he took the coat and threw it AT her.

Needless to say, he's being punished today. Unfortunately, the only punishment that does any good is to take away his favorite toys and TV shows. I say unfortunately, because when I take away those things, he doesn't know what to do with himself. He will inevitably follow me around the house turning everything I do, into something a five year old WANTS to do. If I change the toilet paper or empty the trash, he'll say, "I can do that".

If I load the dishwasher, "I can do that".

Fold the laundry, "I can do that".

You name it, he can do it. And, usually he can. But, for certain it will take a thousand times as long.

Please don't think I don't want to engage my son. I adore him. We play a lot of games and have been working on a big jigsaw puzzle together. We do speech therapy, work on fine motor skills, and I read to him.

Nor is he a TV junkie. At the most, he'll watch an hour of Little Einsteins each day. But that hour, that precious hour...it's GONE.

Once in awhile, Mom needs a break. Or, at least a chance to steal away and do some laundry without it becoming The Laundry Game. I would like to change the bedding, and leave out the part where I have to construct a fort out of the flat sheet.

Labels: Family Life, Kids