Discipline

When the kids were little, I remember there would be times that I would pretend I didn't see something that required discipline because I simply didn't feel like disciplining.  But our problems were smaller then (i.e. actually hitting things with light sabers instead of virtually hitting things, driving cars along the walls, etc.).  Now, it's not as easy to look the other way to avoid altercation.

Will and Paige both earned a weekend free of screens.  This includes DS, iPad, iPhones, computer, and (because Will asked this question specifically) Leapster.  It also means that if any TV is watched, it is parent (or Cole) - chosen.  So, Cole sat proudly as the two of them muscled through an episode of "Fresh Beat Band" today.  In addition, Paige had to do all of the dinner dishes tonight - a job that she is more than capable of, but I haven't doled this task out as much as dinner prep because, well, the old adage if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.  And I'm kind of picky about how the dishes get done.

What type of behavior would deserve such action?  Well, Will had a particularly forgetful week this past week.  We were sure to point out that the no-screen-time wasn't just for punishment, but because we thought it might help his mind re-focus.  I have very high hopes that this week will be better.

Paige was given some freedom to bike to a friend's in the neighborhood that is farther than usual and was told to call when she got there (5 minutes tops) and forgot.  Because this involved possible risk to her, it included additional punishment.

Both accepted punishment very well and my point of this post isn't to call them out on their wrong-doing.  It's more to remind me that punishment / strictness isn't that bad.  We actually had a great weekend!  In asking if Will felt it was hard or any different that he didn't play any games, he said no.  This made me happy and maybe reassured me that maybe we're not as dependent on "screens" as I sometimes think.  Also, it helped me to realize that even if my kids are unhappy with us for our choice of discipline in the future, they will get over it -- probably sooner than we'd think.