Parenting is oh-so-very fun
I hate Monday nights. Hate them with a passion. This is the night that my son's weekly homework packet comes. It's all due Friday morning, and there's not much time Wednesdays so we have to try to get the bulk of it out of the way Monday and Tuesday so we aren't stuck with a backlog Thursday and have to stay up all night. We do the writing, which he hates, first, because it's the hardest on everyone. He takes forever. He often does it wrong on purpose because he doesn't want to be doing it, so he has to do it over and over. It is hellish. He's in time out "cooling off" and thinking about "making better decisions" about 3-5 times per paper assignment, and he has at least 6 of those a week as well as the two big flash card rings and the reading assignment. Monday night is my own little hell on earth. Monday night is burning pain in my gut and a pounding headache. Monday night is usually me trying for hours to be patient and understanding while my son jabs his pencil thru the tablecloth or draws a line straight down the page or changes grips and erasers 100 times. Monday night makes me feel like a failure as a parent and makes me wonder if my son (who I think is bright and could go far if he bothered trying) is going to be another "C" average working at McDonald's, living on welfare and putting the bare minimum of effort into everything. I know he's only five, but they grow up fast these days so I think my worry is legitimate. I don't understand this giving up and this not wanting to repair mistakes. He gets TONS of praise when he does well, tons of praise for all of his other subjects. It's not like he's getting ridden all the time. I don't know what to do. Rewards and threats just don't work.
All I know for sure is that the next 3 quarters will have increasing amounts of homework and we already spend most Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights at the kitchen table going nowhere slow. He has his good nights where he only acts up a little and manages to stay semi-focused, but it isn't often enough. All I know is that I have no bright ideas, and I don't think well on the fly during intense confrontations. This little man does intense confrontation like a pro...
I HATE Mondays. This is the worst one yet.
All I know for sure is that the next 3 quarters will have increasing amounts of homework and we already spend most Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights at the kitchen table going nowhere slow. He has his good nights where he only acts up a little and manages to stay semi-focused, but it isn't often enough. All I know is that I have no bright ideas, and I don't think well on the fly during intense confrontations. This little man does intense confrontation like a pro...
I HATE Mondays. This is the worst one yet.