A friend stopped over for a bit tonight and she was describing some of her trials and tribulations with her youngest son where video games are concerned. After listening to her describe his behavior, she seemed a little shocked to find out that the boy behaved very similarly at the same age while under the influence of video games. Perhaps because she’s only ever known him since he was 7, her vie of him was different. He no longer has the same tearful fits when it’s time to turn the games off nor the melt downs when he has to let his sister play. He has matured, as they say.
After she had left, the boy was working on his homework. We got yet another performance from the rushing, cranky, can’t-take-criticism-on-his-work boy. Because he has his Blue and Gold Banquet tomorrow night, we had planned on letting him stay up a bit longer to get a bit more done. But after a few minutes of abuse when we went over some of his work, we changed course and told him to go to bed.
With him in bed, the Wife and I discussed the possibility of letting him turn his work in without any corrections on our part, but giving his teacher a heads-up that a stinker was incoming. We thought perhaps getting a note from his teacher that he could do better work would finally spur him to take his time a little more and take our criticism constructively, rather than snapping at us and turning to all the drama he currently does.
Then I think of the boy who used to play video games and how it seemed like he would never change. It occurred that perhaps this is simply the way of it with him. For that matter, perhaps this is the way of it with many kids.
They kick, they scream and they call you names because their coping abilities are so meager at a young age. After a little time has passed and they develop some callouses their attitude changes a bit and they mellow out. Finally, one day perhaps, they even become civil about the whole thing.
So perhaps the behavior is just the price parents pay for trying to teach kids good habits. It’s not an indication that anything is wrong, per say. Simply that everything it as it should be, and it too shall pass.