Last week P dropped a ceramic mug on purpose because she “felt like being rude”. She was upset I wasn’t paying attention to her. I was in the middle of cleaning up a huge mess on the floor and had asked her to sit in her chair while I cleaned it up. I’ve done this many times when a glass breaks or something where it’s dangerous for her to walk around. I wasn’t asking for more than she could give me so this rude behavior needed a consequence. No TV for a week.
No TV is really harder on me than her. I use it to help me make meals or get out the door fast. I use it to get her to clean her room. She can only watch TV once she has spent time reading so it’s part of the routine. Without it I thought would be hard. She asked for it for the first 4 days. After that she didn’t ask for it as much, just on occasion and on the last day she forgot all about it. I saw P become more patient and more self entertained. And she was way more involved in the kitchen.
This past week she started to take part in dinner. Really take part. She took bowls of food to the microwave, heated them up and then took them to the table. She started getting herself water from the fridge door and she started stirring food on the stove. Brilliant.
Not sure if it was the lack of TV that prompted her or the start of school. I’m seeing changes. She’s talking a lot. She’s more independent. She says the funniest things. The concepts are more complex. It’s as if the world is really starting to come together for her and the smallest relationships are now apparent.
Anyway. TV will continue in this house. Only one show a day. And I need to get Discovery in Spanish which will make that half hour even more valuable for her and me.
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