Today was somewhat disjointed. Started with Riley getting ready for school and telling me that she really wanted to go. So I wasn't about to tell her she couldn't go and make her think that school was not a place you want to go so I took her in the morning and then went to Walmart with Jules. Madi didn't want to go so she stayed home and watched a movie and played on her iPod.
Then we were home for almost two hours so I got some laundry done and played a lot with Jules. Madi just wanted to play her iPod and stayed in her pjs for a long time. She really wanted to just hang out today and that was fine by me.
When I left to pick up Riley, I told her that she could play WOW. I had forgotten that we had put restrictions on her account so that she could only play Fri, Sat and Sundays. Jeremy changed the restrictions because if she was supposed to be doing homework, she'd choose to play a game or do a Warriors quiz or do something she wasn't supposed to be doing. Easy to find out when you check her history on the internet and then ask her about it and have to work her into what the truth is.
She tried to get to me, but I'd already shut the garage and gone. When I got back home with the girls, she asked why we changed her restrictions. I told her that I'd completely forgotten about it - as we'd done it months ago - and that Jeremy would have to reset it. She wanted me to call him at work, but I told her that I was not going to interrupt Jeremy's work day to ask him to reset her game. I don't call him unless it's a "must know now" kind of thing. She was not happy about it and went away crying. Has been extremely emotional lately.
She came and talked later and told me "I was mad that you would put restrictions on my game. Why did you guys do that?" I explained to her that honesty breeds honesty and that lack of honesty and dishonesty and bold face lying creates trust issues. That as a parent it is our job to set boundaries for her to follow. She has pushed many boundaries and often is not honest about what she does and tries to push the limits. So we chose to make this an easy limitation where she wouldn't be tempted to play when she's not supposed to. Then I told her that if she thought about it, she could probably think of some scenarios where she was choosing to cause distrust in her actions and her obedience. She said that yes, she could think of some.
So I simply told her that we set them up a long time ago to monitor - as any normal parent would who wants to know what their child is doing so that they are in safe places online. She understood, but doesn't like it. Tween life is hard. And very hard to manage and to know how far to set the boundaries. We tend to start hard because you can never get harder, but you can always get easier. Definitely something I've learned from teaching. Kids have a harder time when more and more limits are placed on them rather than them starting out harder and then loosening up. Has been nice to loosen up on some of the things. Just hard when she continues to push. But could just be the tween stage.
Later in the day, when I started adding up all her iPod and computer time (seven hours total from 8am - 3pm), I knocked on her door and told her that it'd be a great idea to enjoy this 80 degree day and have some fun outside - kick a ball, ride a bike, go outside in the backyard or even see if Brooke wanted to play. Told her Brooke was outside and she was more than welcome to play with her. Madi liked the idea of that so she went out. While they were out, Jules sat in a stroller and I mulched and weeded the beds in the front and laid out new mulch and planted flowers in the pots. Brooke's mom had an appointment so I let Brooke and her brother Turner come over to play with the girls. Turner is 5 so he and Riley had a fun time together.
They played for a few hours and then we ate dinner. I mowed the lawn and fertilized it. Then tested the sprinklers, took a shower and finished two loads of laundry. Madi got to talk to you for a bit. She'll call tomorrow sometime. I'm hoping to take them to the Arboretum if the rain holds off! Madi's not real big on it, but the girls love it and it's great to get outside while we can. Supposed to rain Wed - Sunday. Or at least, according to the last time I checked the weather.
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