May 27
I’m a fan of teaching kids consequences that result from their behavior and decisions. Yesterday I offered to take the twins to see DisneyNature’s film, Chimpanzee. YoungerTwin grumbled that he liked snakes, not chimpanzees, and didn’t want to see the movie. 99.9% of his statement could be attributed to the fact that he was looking at toy snakes and had just been told that I wasn’t buying any toy snakes.  After 20 minutes, YoungerTwin decided that seeing the movie might be fun after all. So, the twins and I walked to the theater. We arrived about 5 minutes before the movie’s start time only to discover it was “SOLD OUT”. Seizing the moment, I explained to YoungerTwin that had he not spent 15 or 20 minutes being angry about my refusal to buy a toy snake, then we probably would have arrived in time to see the movie.  This morning he asked if we could try again to see the movie. He assured that he would be in a good mood and that chimpanzees were, in fact, his favorite animal - not snakes. Perhaps, he’s finally associating consequences with behavior. Now if I can just teach him that not lifting the toilet seat results in being eaten by a big, scary monster then life would be perfect .

I’m a fan of teaching kids consequences that result from their behavior and decisions. Yesterday I offered to take the twins to see DisneyNature’s film, Chimpanzee. YoungerTwin grumbled that he liked snakes, not chimpanzees, and didn’t want to see the movie. 99.9% of his statement could be attributed to the fact that he was looking at toy snakes and had just been told that I wasn’t buying any toy snakes. 

After 20 minutes, YoungerTwin decided that seeing the movie might be fun after all. So, the twins and I walked to the theater. We arrived about 5 minutes before the movie’s start time only to discover it was “SOLD OUT”. Seizing the moment, I explained to YoungerTwin that had he not spent 15 or 20 minutes being angry about my refusal to buy a toy snake, then we probably would have arrived in time to see the movie. 

This morning he asked if we could try again to see the movie. He assured that he would be in a good mood and that chimpanzees were, in fact, his favorite animal - not snakes. Perhaps, he’s finally associating consequences with behavior. Now if I can just teach him that not lifting the toilet seat results in being eaten by a big, scary monster then life would be perfect .

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23 Notes

  1. timeoflilacs said: I love it when I can turn certain moments into “the consequence talk.” I know that’s probably mean, but nothing feels good like a big fat “I told you so,” but in grown-up speak.
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