I can't remember who came up with it, but I borrowed a punishment from here.
Today, the bug (he's 9) asked if he could take a pen that he bought at the school store with him to school. I told him that was fine, but that he was only to draw or write on paper. This is the kid who is always asking me if he can make tattoos on himself. Normally I'm good with it, but I didn't want him coloring on himself while he was supposed to be working in class.
So on the way home from work I get a call from his sitter. Now she was exaggerating a bit, but she was calling to let me know that the bug was covered from fingertip to shoulder blade in ink. Not exactly true, but he had colored both arms pretty well, both hands (smeared from trying to wash it off), and on his pants and shirt from wiping his hands. In other words, he was a red and pink nightmare. And when the sitter asked him what I had told him, he was able to tell her word for word what I had said. When she asked why he colored on himself in class (I'm glad that he was honest and told her that he did it during silent reading when the teacher left the room to go to the bathroom), he claimed that he forgot.
I was livid in the car on the way home and called the ex (his dad) to let him know that when the bug called and said that he didn't go to scouts, that was why. The bug was not going to get rewarded by playing with his friends when he directly disobeyed me.
When I got to the sitter's, the bug looked at me completely calmly and informed me that he knew that I knew that he had colored on himself. And that sealed it in my mind.
I told the bug that since he was so keen to color on himself, he could color on himself for the rest of the night. The look on his face told me that he was NOT expecting that, and the waterworks started. In the car on the way home, I told him that since he wanted to color on himself so badly, he could get it out of his system tonight. He told me that it was out of his system, and I told him that it was obviously not the case since he had done it when I specifically told him not to.
So the bug's been in his room since 5:30 this afternoon coloring himself. His legs, arms, chest, and face (yes, his face, too) are covered with marker. We've gone beyond the tears and yelling to just being bored with the whole thing, which was my goal in the first place. I hate the fact that I have to keep watching him and giving him attention to make sure he's coloring, but if I go for too long, he's going to try and stop. And to be honest, I can't tell right now if he's colored or not:)
He's asked me if he can wash it off tonight, and since I now know that he wants to, I don't know if I'm going to let him. I may make him go to bed like he is, and then in the morning let him get off as much as he can in the shower before we have to go in the morning. I'm not sure.
But I'm hoping that after staying in his room the whole night coloring on himself, maybe he'll learn that when I tell him something, I'm not just telling him that to hear myself talk. I just hope that it sinks in... this has been an interesting night.
I took the punishment from the person who's kid was playing the DS to the point that they couldn't pay attention to anyone else, so they had their kid play the DS all night... even through dinner and everything else. I just hope it sinks in...I really do. And now I'm making him think about his drawings... having him make actual pictures instead of the scribbling he can just zone out with.
This will make for some interesting pictures...
So on the way home from work I get a call from his sitter. Now she was exaggerating a bit, but she was calling to let me know that the bug was covered from fingertip to shoulder blade in ink. Not exactly true, but he had colored both arms pretty well, both hands (smeared from trying to wash it off), and on his pants and shirt from wiping his hands. In other words, he was a red and pink nightmare. And when the sitter asked him what I had told him, he was able to tell her word for word what I had said. When she asked why he colored on himself in class (I'm glad that he was honest and told her that he did it during silent reading when the teacher left the room to go to the bathroom), he claimed that he forgot.
I was livid in the car on the way home and called the ex (his dad) to let him know that when the bug called and said that he didn't go to scouts, that was why. The bug was not going to get rewarded by playing with his friends when he directly disobeyed me.
When I got to the sitter's, the bug looked at me completely calmly and informed me that he knew that I knew that he had colored on himself. And that sealed it in my mind.
I told the bug that since he was so keen to color on himself, he could color on himself for the rest of the night. The look on his face told me that he was NOT expecting that, and the waterworks started. In the car on the way home, I told him that since he wanted to color on himself so badly, he could get it out of his system tonight. He told me that it was out of his system, and I told him that it was obviously not the case since he had done it when I specifically told him not to.
So the bug's been in his room since 5:30 this afternoon coloring himself. His legs, arms, chest, and face (yes, his face, too) are covered with marker. We've gone beyond the tears and yelling to just being bored with the whole thing, which was my goal in the first place. I hate the fact that I have to keep watching him and giving him attention to make sure he's coloring, but if I go for too long, he's going to try and stop. And to be honest, I can't tell right now if he's colored or not:)
He's asked me if he can wash it off tonight, and since I now know that he wants to, I don't know if I'm going to let him. I may make him go to bed like he is, and then in the morning let him get off as much as he can in the shower before we have to go in the morning. I'm not sure.
But I'm hoping that after staying in his room the whole night coloring on himself, maybe he'll learn that when I tell him something, I'm not just telling him that to hear myself talk. I just hope that it sinks in... this has been an interesting night.
I took the punishment from the person who's kid was playing the DS to the point that they couldn't pay attention to anyone else, so they had their kid play the DS all night... even through dinner and everything else. I just hope it sinks in...I really do. And now I'm making him think about his drawings... having him make actual pictures instead of the scribbling he can just zone out with.
This will make for some interesting pictures...