Raising a Difficult Child, Chapter 648
All we do is fight--about school, clothes, chores, money. My child seems to hate me because I want him to get on the bus on time, wear clean clothes and bathe, do his homework and care whether or not the answers are right or wrong. He's absolutely hateful to me because I want him to be a responsible well-adjusted citizen of the world.
I kept him up until 12:45 finishing and correcting Math, while he pretended not to remember a single math rule: how to divide fractions and decimals, how to average, how to find the circumference of a circle. Finally we finished and I sent him to bed, only to have to drag him--almost literally--out of bed to get on the bus five hours later. I know you think I'm exaggerating here, but I'm not. I use threats, counting down, and a squirt bottle to get him (and his older brother) out of bed in the morning.
And then the battle starts again--the fight to get him to wear something other than what he wore yesterday, to eat something--ANYTHING, take his medicine, brush his teeth, comb his hair and get out to the bus on time. "No, you're NOT taking your DS to school and not those cards either! Do you have your homework?? Do you need lunch money???" We start out every morning fighting over basic preparedness for the day. It's discouraging. It's more than discouraging. It's a horrible way to start every day.
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So he made it into the Geography Bee. Somebody else told me this--not him. I eventually read it in the school newsletter.... I thought to myself, I'll go see him. I'll see him in the Geography Bee. I made plans to take time off work and be there. I'll support him and show him that in spite of all the fighting, arguing and anger, I do love him--very, very much.
Well, I missed it. The school newsletter said it was today. It was yesterday. I missed it.
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Natural consequences can be the best teacher... Work with the school on that one... maybe a visit with a truancy officer or something...
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry it's so hard right now. Amazing how much the teen years seem to mimic toddler and preschool-hood.
Obviously, I'm playing catch-up with your blog. You're not a bad parent. I suspect when they talk about "growing pains" they were talking about the pain the parents go through raising these kids. Or at least in part.
ReplyDeleteI hope this semester goes better for both of us...and our boys, too. (fingers crossed)