Hayden has been rather rude as of late. I’m sure it has mostly to do with his learning to assert himself, but his repeated “NO!” has earned him a fair number of time-outs. Most times, he is given the option of a time-out or saying he’s sorry. Occasionally we just ask him, “do you need a time out?” and he’ll pretty much always respond with a “yes” and walk himself to the time-out spot.
Tonight at dinner, he was not listening and repeatedly telling Mike “NO!” when he asked him to do something. Mike asked him if he needed a time out, and Hayden said “yes” and proceeded to time-out. He cried after a little bit and we let him know that when he was done crying and ready to say sorry, he could come out. After a little bit he decided that he was ready to come out.
Violet was already done at the table, so she quickly said, “I’ll take care of him!”
She went over to Hayden (who was sitting on the landing of the stairs) and sat down in front of him. Here’s the conversation:
Violet: Hayden, do you know why you were in time-out?
Hayden: Yes.
Violet: Why?
Hayden: Rude.
Violet: That’s right. And not listening. Are you ready to say you’re sorry?
Hayden: Sorry.
Violet: Okay, give me a hug.
They then proceeded to hug and then run up the stairs to slide down.
Mike and I just looked at each other and were amazed that they managed to wrap that all up by themselves. Violet knows the routine, from lots of practice, but Hayden was more than willing to go along with Violet being the one to remind him of correct behavior.
They really are growing up.
Too bad you can't figure out a way to bottle all this magic – and save it for the teen years! Grammy