The boy has an unfortunate short between his brain and his mouth. It’s most evident with regards to his sister. He never misses a chance to zing her, whether necessary or not. More worrisome, it’s also there for the Wife or myself.
This morning, particular, was difficult for him because of it. The Wife and I both have pretty much had it. We’ve been warning him for awhile now that he needs to watch what he says and when he says it, repeatedly giving the age old advice “If you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” So far, he has shown little indication of taking that advice to heart.
So when he popped off this morning, making an unprovoked and disrespectful comment to his sister, I had him kneel in the corner for awhile. The corner is tough when you’ve got knee caps, especially on hardwood. Be that as it may, shortly after he was done there, he got sent back because he made comments to his Mother.
This time, after he was released, I explained to him that the Wife and I will not allow him or his sister to disrespect us like that with his comments. I also explained that he’s older now and smarter and understands a lot more. Therefore, he has to learn to exercise better judgment where his mouth is concerned. The Wife had a similar talk with him during the day.
Fast forward to bed time, where I’m saying my “Goodnight” to him. Unprovoked, he apologized for his comments and attitude during the morning. It was a nice surprise, and I told him “It’s OK to make mistakes, but it’s up to your Mom and I to point them out, and up to you to fix them.” He apologized to the Wife as well.
Moments like that at least give the hope that he’ll turn out alright.