Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Ineffective dicipline...

Do NOT be fooled by the cute and innocent look on Oliver's face below:
There is DARKNESS brewing just beneath that sweet little face.

Yesterday, for the first time, we gave Oliver a "time out". He kept hitting Le Petite Kitton and so, I got our stool and put it in the corner and explained to him that if he chose to hit her again that it would mean that he would have to go to time out. Well, he hit that poor kitty again. So I sat him down, set the timer and he proceeded to laugh and talk to himself in the corner for 1 minute.

Great.

So, today: He threw a lego at me and hit me in the head. I said:
"Oliver, we do not throw. If you throw at me again, you will have to go to time out."
What does that little beloved monster of ours do?
He goes and gets the stool:






AND he climbs onto the stool and puts himself in time out.
It was hilarious.
He sat there and did a few significant signs to me, while babbling:
Here, he is telling me that he hit me in the head:





Here he is signing "hurt"




Here he is signing "sorry".
I did not prompt ANY of this. I just witnessed it (with a camera, of course).
As struck as I am by how intelligent and endearing this little man is, I am also scared to death. He has, as of yet, mocked pretty much all of my attempts at discipline.
Help.

6 comments:

Robyn said...

The time out stool is fun now, because it's new. It won't be so fun in while. So..stick with it. He is so stinkin cute!

Emy W. said...

Not having children (for the next 7 months, at least), I don't really know what would work in actuality, but I really liked the concepts in "Raising a Happy, Unspoiled Child" (it's at http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Happy-Unspoiled-Child-Burton/dp/0684801345 ).

If you find something that works, let me know... I'm kinda terrified for myself.

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh. I would have laughed so hard! He's so smart - I love the signing. I think he may be trouble when he's a teenager!! :)

Amy said...

My problem exactly! It's hard when they are so smart and cute. Hitting and disobeying are not allowed, but ultimately I chose my battles with the kids. But I have to admit, I couldn't discipline Oliver with that adorableness. Good Luck!

Laura Horne said...

The hardest part is not laughing at them. Its so hard to discipline Amos without laughing, which makes it totally ineffective. They're so darn cute and funny though!

Kelli said...

And so it begins! Still ready for another one?