Categories: uncategorized
Date: 05 February 2005 19:59:06
It's going wrong and I feel powerless to stop it. Honestly, I don't think that I am asking a lot of the boys to require that they tidy their room and put their things away. And if one more person tells me "it's a boy thing" I think I'll scream. We can't do the fun things if I spend all my time and energy doing housework and the state of the place gets me down - especially when it's dangerous because you can't walk to the front door safely in the dark. Why, oh why, when I ask them to tidy their room, can't they just get on and do it?
I've tried all the nice things - doing it together, promising them rewards, doing a sticker chart. To no avail. I've tried reasoning with them. They're all full of the right words and they seem to understand where I'm coming from, but it makes no difference. The sanctions fall on deaf ears too. I confiscate a toy, they simply forget about it. Even filling binbags full of their toys off the floor and warning them that I will put them out for the binmen if they're not sorted out results in the bags going out to the bin. Heartbreaking as there are lovely toys in there which have been bought with love. Now they are grounded until they start doing something about it but it makes no difference at all, despite them both missing treats today that they'd really looked forward to. Warned that they'd miss tomorrow's planned treats as well, plus the carrot of having friends to stay over once the room is habitable, and again it made no difference at all. They decided instead to have a play fight over a toy, knocking the bin over all over the floor and throwing the freshly ironed clothes around. And earlier this morning they decided to have a real fight over the bedroom - Smudgelet punching Tiddles in the eye and giving him a real shiner, Tiddles then having a tantrum which resulted in me giving him a serious warning about his escalating violence, while reminding them both just how much I love them.
I love them, but at the moment I can't stand them. And I'm not sure where I go from here.