I just arrived home from dropping Austin off at school for his first day of grade 3. I brought him to the school's office to meet his aide to help him get settled with his supplies and ensure things go smoothly. I am a nervous wreck! I always am when Austin is in a new environment and I am not around to hover over him, protecting him from any kind of bullying.
It is sad when you think that most parents are so excited to see their children go off to school (don't get me wrong, I am not saying they do not worry but not on the same level). Kaleigh starts school tomorrow and I am both thrilled and sad because she will be going to Kindergarten and will be away from me everyday. (Okay, let's not go there because, I will cry.) When it comes to Kaleigh, other than she is shy (I will make sure she is settled in okay tomorrow before I leave her at school), I do not have the same fears as I do for Austin. When it comes to Kaleigh, I pity whoever would pick on her, not a good plan. That girl don't play! She comes to win, at any cost! She does not take anything off anyone! She is not someone who will go looking for trouble but if it comes to her, well, she is going to give it right back. Not the same for Austin, he is a target. I watched Kaleigh "protect" him this summer. Telling him it was not safe to go near the teenagers in the park and to wait until they left to play. If people pick on him or hurt him, she runs and tells the ladies at day camp or if I am there, me. She is so protective and fearless, for a 5 year old, it is truly amazing. I am so PROUD of her, just as much as I am PROUD of Austin. I am blessed, I have great kids! :)
I sit here blogging, worried and praying that Austin will be okay and no one will hurt him. I watched that new movie "Bully" and it broke my heart. I cannot believe that children can be so cruel to others. Austin is at a campus with only grades 3 to 6, that strikes fear into me that I cannot even put into words! I pray he will be safe and no one will cause him any harm. I pray he have or make a friend to play with during recess. I pray things will be different this year. I pray he will be happy! I pray ...
All the best! *HUGS*
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
The Referee
I have become a referee. Certainly their are tons of parents out there that wear the black and white stripes 24/7 too! How long does this last? Fighting, fighting, fighting! OH MY! My children are not together more than 2 minutes and they start to fight. What is going on this summer? I feel like Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole! My kids have always bickered back and forth, but this is a completely different level of battle, seriously! :(
My strategy is to separate the kids. One in one room, one in another. Kaleigh usually wants to be back with Austin within a few minutes but then it starts again almost right away. It is not the bickering as much as it is the physical attacks the two kids launch on each other. One hits, the other one bites! Austin is getting better at calling me if I am not in the room to say that Kaleigh is bothering him (she is always on top of the poor guy, she cannot sit alone, she is always right beside him, he has a lot of patience, relatively speaking). I used to fight with my siblings too when I was younger and am aware that kids do this but we are trying our best to stop it. We realize they are always going to bicker but the physical stuff, well, it needs to end. It is not necessary and we worry about one really hurting the other, even if they do not mean to, it can happen and I do not like to see my babies hurting each other.
For now, separating the kids seems to help and keeping my black and white jersey on at all times!
All the best! *HUGS*
My strategy is to separate the kids. One in one room, one in another. Kaleigh usually wants to be back with Austin within a few minutes but then it starts again almost right away. It is not the bickering as much as it is the physical attacks the two kids launch on each other. One hits, the other one bites! Austin is getting better at calling me if I am not in the room to say that Kaleigh is bothering him (she is always on top of the poor guy, she cannot sit alone, she is always right beside him, he has a lot of patience, relatively speaking). I used to fight with my siblings too when I was younger and am aware that kids do this but we are trying our best to stop it. We realize they are always going to bicker but the physical stuff, well, it needs to end. It is not necessary and we worry about one really hurting the other, even if they do not mean to, it can happen and I do not like to see my babies hurting each other.
For now, separating the kids seems to help and keeping my black and white jersey on at all times!
All the best! *HUGS*
Light on Listening
Oh my! So I get that my children are 5 and 8 but I think they have turned off a button somewhere that involves responding when spoken to. It is stressful and we are trying our best to correct the situation.
We went to a family party yesterday and it was hard to get Austin to listen. He becomes very stimulated by all the people and does not really like to be around all the socializing. There was a pool and Austin and Kaleigh brought their suits. It was cold here for August 4th, only 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), the wind was blowing and it rained on and off as well. When the sun was out, it was warm. I was a kid too once and all I would want to do was get in the pool, that was Kaleigh and Austin's primary focus, POOL TIME! After a while, we did let them go in and swim. Some others got in to swim as well. They were all having fun. It started to rain lightly, then harder so my husband and I decided it was time for the kids to get out of the pool and go inside. Kaleigh got out pretty quickly but Austin, he would just not listen. I finally started to count and tell him if he did not get out of the pool, he would not be able to go in again and he needed to listen. He did eventually get out of the pool.
I know that sometimes people may think our expectations are too high but my husband made a good point when we were discussing the kids' behaviour this morning. What if something happened that was an emergency or the kids had to get out of the pool right away or move out of the way to avoid something? It does not seem to register that there could be danger and we need them to do what we want when we ask. This summer has been really a challenge as far as behaviour goes and struggles abound.
We are determined to keep at it and ride through this "phase". It is really not easy but then it is not easy for any parent, is it?
All the best! *HUGS*
We went to a family party yesterday and it was hard to get Austin to listen. He becomes very stimulated by all the people and does not really like to be around all the socializing. There was a pool and Austin and Kaleigh brought their suits. It was cold here for August 4th, only 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), the wind was blowing and it rained on and off as well. When the sun was out, it was warm. I was a kid too once and all I would want to do was get in the pool, that was Kaleigh and Austin's primary focus, POOL TIME! After a while, we did let them go in and swim. Some others got in to swim as well. They were all having fun. It started to rain lightly, then harder so my husband and I decided it was time for the kids to get out of the pool and go inside. Kaleigh got out pretty quickly but Austin, he would just not listen. I finally started to count and tell him if he did not get out of the pool, he would not be able to go in again and he needed to listen. He did eventually get out of the pool.
I know that sometimes people may think our expectations are too high but my husband made a good point when we were discussing the kids' behaviour this morning. What if something happened that was an emergency or the kids had to get out of the pool right away or move out of the way to avoid something? It does not seem to register that there could be danger and we need them to do what we want when we ask. This summer has been really a challenge as far as behaviour goes and struggles abound.
We are determined to keep at it and ride through this "phase". It is really not easy but then it is not easy for any parent, is it?
All the best! *HUGS*
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