There's been talk in the media about the "unhelpfulness" of report cards. Articles on how to de-code the teacher comments, and suggestions of a move towards parent-friendly reports, and perhaps even non-letter grades to measure the child's progress. Whatever. In the end, a face-to-face meeting with the teacher is the best feedback regarding the student. Most teachers will have the child's workbooks, test scores, samples of their classroom work on hand to explain what the report card comments really mean. If behaviour is a problem, then again, speaking with the educators is probably better than an exchange of words over paper.
So, with some trepidation, we booked a time to meet with both Ceilidh's and Devlin's teachers. Devlin was certainly anxious as to what was to be discussed at this meeting, even going so far as to ask to tag along. We denied the request.
The first "interview" was for Ceilidh. Her two teachers were full of praise, adoration and encouragement. We heard that Ceilidh was sociable and friendly, and not discriminatory as to her playmates. In fact, the shyer children gravitate towards Ceilidh because she is so welcoming. We heard that she loves to sing and dance. Her printing is neat, and advanced in that she is already adept at writing out lower case letters. She can recognize all the letters of the alphabet, as well as knowing what sounds they make. In fact, the teachers encouraged us to start Ceilidh on reading as she's adept at phonics. To assist, they've started to send home senior kindergarten assignments for her. It was also amusing and enlightening to see how far Ceilidh has advanced with her artistic skills. A drawing from the beginning of September showed a person composed of a face, legs and arms. No torso. Today, her drawings have people with "bodies" and more detail. There was one with a little girl flying a kite, with ribbons on the kite's tail and a rainbow overhead. Included, was her attempt to describe the scene - she had written a short sentence, sounding out the words. Not spelled correctly, but phonetically sound.
The little girl they described almost sounded alien to us. We were told she always ate the entire contents of her lunch bag without any prompting. So not like the child who comes to the dinner table. She never has to be asked twice to complete any task, and is happy to help out. Again, doesn't resemble the child who needs to be bribed, cajoled, threatened to pick up her toys. The only area of improvement that was suggested for Ceilidh? Zipping up her jacket on her own. That's it!
Then we moved down the hallway to Devlin's classroom. Considering all the earlier behavioural issues, we were a bit leery. There hadn't been any notes sent home in the previous two weeks, nor any detentions, but we were prepared to present a united front about whatever "perceived" problems our son was demonstrating. I think I was, a tiny bit, concerned that the teacher would suggest having our rambunctious, normal (in our eyes) six-year-old boy to be tested for ADHD.
Our first area of concern was the academics. Was he learning everything? Were there any problems? Like I said, the report card was NOT helpful nor enlightening in any fashion. The response was favourable. He was definitely learning and retaining. One encouraging comment was Devlin was able to write meaningful sentences in his journal. Meaningful in that the words conveyed a comprehensible thought. The sentences were also phrased properly, and no danger of a run-on sentences. All the hours of bedtime stories were paying off. He was also ready to move onto the next level of reading books to be sent home. All of this was encouraging to hear, so we moved on the next area of concern - behaviour. It was heartening to hear that Devlin's issues were more of the silly variety that have a time and place (i.e., not in the classroom), as opposed to a malicious bent. Really, it's a matter of maturing and learning to adjust to the new norm. Something that will work itself out over some time. Whew, we breathed a sign of relief.
So, all in all, the parent-teacher interviews were a success from our point of view. Although I'm not a proponent of rewarding children for behaviours and performances I expect to be the norm, I do think a new packages of Silly bandz for the rugrats are appropriate here.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
New bed - but where are the kids?
So after many years of use, and a few more years of procrastinating, we finally purchased a new queen sized mattress for the bed in Devlin's room. A comfortable, pillow topped mattress guaranteed to induce sweet dreams.
Who's sleeping in the bed?
Not the kids.
Nope.
Recently, the kids have decided to sleep "all together" in Mommy and Daddy's room. They all snuggle up for bedtime stories - first Aisling's pick of the month (because she wants the same book read over and over and over again), then Ceilidh's, and finally Devlin's book. Then the lights are turned off, prayers are recited and eye drift close, quite fast, and within minutes, deep regular breaths can be heard from all three. That's when Mommy and Daddy, the bookends in the king sized bed, sneak out of the room, without waking the slumbering angels, and head to the smaller bed to sleep in peace. That is, if we can wake up after falling asleep with the kids.
We've pondered the option of switching the beds in the rooms. I don't think it'll matter. The monkeys just want to sleep with Mommy and Daddy in Mommy and Daddy's room. Which is fine with us for now. As long as we're getting a few hours of undisturbed sleep, it doesn't matter that Buzz Lightyear staring down at us.
Who's sleeping in the bed?
Not the kids.
Nope.
Recently, the kids have decided to sleep "all together" in Mommy and Daddy's room. They all snuggle up for bedtime stories - first Aisling's pick of the month (because she wants the same book read over and over and over again), then Ceilidh's, and finally Devlin's book. Then the lights are turned off, prayers are recited and eye drift close, quite fast, and within minutes, deep regular breaths can be heard from all three. That's when Mommy and Daddy, the bookends in the king sized bed, sneak out of the room, without waking the slumbering angels, and head to the smaller bed to sleep in peace. That is, if we can wake up after falling asleep with the kids.
We've pondered the option of switching the beds in the rooms. I don't think it'll matter. The monkeys just want to sleep with Mommy and Daddy in Mommy and Daddy's room. Which is fine with us for now. As long as we're getting a few hours of undisturbed sleep, it doesn't matter that Buzz Lightyear staring down at us.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Quality Time
When we're in the middle of a crazy week, rushing to and from activities and work, attempting to get mundane chores completed, it seems there will never be an opportunity to enjoy a simple past time like reading a book, or soaking in a bath sans enfants. Every once in awhile, I do manage to find time to browse a bookstore, but it's usually when I'm at work, away from the children and the pressing to-do list of household chores and the ever growing pile of laundry. Trying to schedule quality one-on-one time with the kids is a near impossible task, let alone finding time alone with the spouse. But to my amazement, I did manage to have some alone time with each one of my kids this weekend.
Unlike the now defunct "Jon & Kate plus Eight", I did NOT have a special outing planned for each child. There was no trip to a horse farm or roller rink. None of that, which frankly, would require way too much energy to plan and there's simply not enough time in the day for that task.
Rather, the one-on-one time came upon us in a serendipitous fashion. The opportunities found us. While Aisling was at dance lessons, Ceilidh and I partook in the weekly Costco shopping trip. Okay, not really quality time, but she was able to help Mommy with the shopping and voice her input into what flavour of chips made their into the cart.
Once I dropped off Ceilidh as her dance session, it was Aisling's turn with Mommy. We headed to the nearby Tim Horton's for Aisling's "chockit" doughnut snack. I enjoyed a cup of coffee while Aisling proceeded to munch away at the chockit while charming all the customers at Tim's.
I even managed to have some time with Devlin. Again, it was during a trip to the grocery store. Devlin helped with selecting the fruits and vegetables, and I caught a glimpse of what toys he was interested in when he took off for the toy aisle. I ended up with more than what was on the shopping list, but that's what happens when your child asks for raspberries and fresh pineapple, and selects a still warm baguette for his snack. We had a silly conversation about nothing important, and came away with a date to see the Green Lantern movie when it's released next summer. (I showed him the Ryan Reynolds, aka Green Lantern cover of People magazine.)
As a bonus, while Devlin and Aisling were frolicking in the pile of raked leaves with Daddy, Ceilidh and I took advantage of the empty living room to work on jigsaw puzzles.
Sitting at my desk surrounded by piles of work with gloomy skies outside, I look back over my weekend and (as cheesy as it sounds) realize how fortunate I was to have those few stolen moments with each child. Despite the craziness of the weekend (picture dance lessons, gymnastics, hockey, church, rehearsal for the Christmas pageant, a concert, shopping, laundry x5, cleaning, homework, baths, meal preparation), it was magical that I was able to find time for each child to appreciate each child's unique personality while creating forever images in my mind's eye. Aisling in her pink ballet tutu sporting a toothy chocolatey grin, Ceilidh's quiet determination while sorting through a hundred puzzle pieces, the mischievous gleam in Devlin's eyes as he was bestowed the responsibility of picking out a snack at the grocery store. These moments don't happen very often but when they do, seize them!
Unlike the now defunct "Jon & Kate plus Eight", I did NOT have a special outing planned for each child. There was no trip to a horse farm or roller rink. None of that, which frankly, would require way too much energy to plan and there's simply not enough time in the day for that task.
Rather, the one-on-one time came upon us in a serendipitous fashion. The opportunities found us. While Aisling was at dance lessons, Ceilidh and I partook in the weekly Costco shopping trip. Okay, not really quality time, but she was able to help Mommy with the shopping and voice her input into what flavour of chips made their into the cart.
Once I dropped off Ceilidh as her dance session, it was Aisling's turn with Mommy. We headed to the nearby Tim Horton's for Aisling's "chockit" doughnut snack. I enjoyed a cup of coffee while Aisling proceeded to munch away at the chockit while charming all the customers at Tim's.
I even managed to have some time with Devlin. Again, it was during a trip to the grocery store. Devlin helped with selecting the fruits and vegetables, and I caught a glimpse of what toys he was interested in when he took off for the toy aisle. I ended up with more than what was on the shopping list, but that's what happens when your child asks for raspberries and fresh pineapple, and selects a still warm baguette for his snack. We had a silly conversation about nothing important, and came away with a date to see the Green Lantern movie when it's released next summer. (I showed him the Ryan Reynolds, aka Green Lantern cover of People magazine.)
As a bonus, while Devlin and Aisling were frolicking in the pile of raked leaves with Daddy, Ceilidh and I took advantage of the empty living room to work on jigsaw puzzles.
Sitting at my desk surrounded by piles of work with gloomy skies outside, I look back over my weekend and (as cheesy as it sounds) realize how fortunate I was to have those few stolen moments with each child. Despite the craziness of the weekend (picture dance lessons, gymnastics, hockey, church, rehearsal for the Christmas pageant, a concert, shopping, laundry x5, cleaning, homework, baths, meal preparation), it was magical that I was able to find time for each child to appreciate each child's unique personality while creating forever images in my mind's eye. Aisling in her pink ballet tutu sporting a toothy chocolatey grin, Ceilidh's quiet determination while sorting through a hundred puzzle pieces, the mischievous gleam in Devlin's eyes as he was bestowed the responsibility of picking out a snack at the grocery store. These moments don't happen very often but when they do, seize them!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Report Card time
It's that time of the year - report cards. My kids seem unfazed by this, so why am I nervous? Why am I the anxious party? Is it because of memories past, from when I was in grade school? Or is it because the report card is a really a reflection on the parent?
As a good friend said, "If the report card is bad, then it affirms your belief that you're a terrible parent. On the other hand, if the reports are good, it leaves you wondering, 'why is that? what am I doing right?' ".
As a good friend said, "If the report card is bad, then it affirms your belief that you're a terrible parent. On the other hand, if the reports are good, it leaves you wondering, 'why is that? what am I doing right?' ".
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Boys and Schooling - a rant of sorts
Since the start of the school year, we have been struggling with Devlin and his adjustment to grade one. Not in terms of academics. Well, at least I don't think so. We've been diligent in staying on top of his homework assignments, and quizzing him on spelling, and reading simple words and books together. Yes, there are daily homework assignments in grade one. On the rare day there isn't anything assigned, I've given Devlin some math exercises or printing work to do. So, I'm not worried about his academics, unless of course, I'm told differently next week at the parent teacher interviews.
Rather it's been the behavioural issues that been the cause of much stress and worry in our household. We've had several notes sent home from the teacher about his inability to behave appropriately in school. Accompanying these were the slips from the detention rooms, or "thinking rooms" as they're now labelled. Once, he was asked about a situation in class, and Devlin was unable to stick to the cold hard facts and likely embellished the story. So he was labelled as a liar (more or less) and I got a note about his inability to accept blame for his actions. Another time, he was caught standing on his chair at lunchtime and yelling. There was no adult supervisor in the classroom at the time, and perhaps he thought he could get away with it. Devlin's version was that he was telling his classmates to be quiet. Once in gym class, he was unable to stand still and was jumping on top of the bleachers. There was the time he was caught in the wrong bathroom with several of his classmates. Not the girls bathroom, but the bathroom for the older boys. Two weeks ago, he received a detention for "fighting".
That's when I became very upset. With Devlin. But also with the school. There were no details accompanying the "fighting" detention slip. We couldn't get a straight story out of Devlin as to the nature of the fighting. I sent a note to the school asking whether it was bullying or horseplay. I received a reply that neither was acceptable. No kidding, but bullying and horseplay are two very different behaviours. One has the potential of injuring another person out of hatred or spite, and another is more reflective of little boys and their high energy levels and mode of play. How can I discipline my child at home, and work with him about appropriate behaviour without knowing all the facts?
After some more pushing, I learned the fighting was simply horseplay between two friends. There was some shoving but no one was complaining of being hurt. The teacher on duty (likely female) told the boys to stop. They did for a bit, and then re-commenced their activities once the teacher was out of sight, as little children do. They got caught again, and this time were sent to the thinking room. Two things wrong here, from my perspective. Since when is physical play a bad thing considering there are no organized sports at recess? Running around and chasing each other is completely normal, and a healthy way for little ones to get some exercise while releasing some pent-up energy. It's totally unrealistic to expect 5 and 6 year olds to sit in a classroom for an entire day without these opportunities to "let go". To take away their recess and send them inside for a detention is not an effective form of punishment. In fact, I would argue it compounds the problem. Without a release, these children will be even more distracted and fidgety when class resumes. Given that he's gone from 2.5 hours of mostly playtime in junior and senior kindergarten to 5.5 hours of sitting at a desk and doing some real "learning", it's understandable that Devlin's been having some difficulty making a smooth transition.
There's been some attention in the media to the issue of boys lagging in our education systems. Record number of women are entering and graduating from university and college, while record numbers of males are not. Has our educational system gone overboard in attempting to attract and keep girls in school? Is there a feminization of our education? There's certainly a disproportionate number of female teachers in the elementary schools. Devlin's school has maybe 3 male teachers. Both the principal and vice-principal are female. While this is great news for women, I wonder how having a school run by a mostly female staff affects boys, particularly their behaviour. There's no question girls and boys behave differently. Girls are quieter, more agreeable, can sit still for longer periods of time while colouring pictures of castles and princesses. Boys are rambunctious, more easily distracted, and eager to act out parts of their favorite superhero adventure. Inevitably they will be treated differently because the same standard of expectations will be placed on them. Boys are disproportionately diagnosed more often with ADHD even though there isn't link to the XY chromosome. Teachers want an orderly classroom of students who sit quietly without tapping their legs or fidgeting in their seats. At the end of the day, does Devlin pretending to be a zombie make him a future juvenile delinquent? Should their unstructured physical activities be curtailed? Is it reasonable to expect a classroom of grade one students will quietly eat their lunch at their desks without adult supervision? Let's not forget that this is the first year that these children have had to eat a lunch at school.
While I can accept that it may take months for Devlin to adjust to the level of decorum the teachers expect, I don't think penalizing normal behaviour with detentions is the answer or solution. It's also very discouraging to both the parents and the student. And what about the academics? Why is there no mention of that, whether good or bad? That's my main concern. If he's lagging in the learning, then the behavioural incidents at school will only increase, and the chances of academic success will correspondingly decrease. By labelling a student as a problem child when it's often a question of maturity will lead to a diminished opportunities for that student to receive academic help. Let's face it - teachers talk amongst themselves, and it takes less energy to work with a "model" student. Humans are inherently lazy, and teachers already view themselves as overworked and underpaid.
Rather it's been the behavioural issues that been the cause of much stress and worry in our household. We've had several notes sent home from the teacher about his inability to behave appropriately in school. Accompanying these were the slips from the detention rooms, or "thinking rooms" as they're now labelled. Once, he was asked about a situation in class, and Devlin was unable to stick to the cold hard facts and likely embellished the story. So he was labelled as a liar (more or less) and I got a note about his inability to accept blame for his actions. Another time, he was caught standing on his chair at lunchtime and yelling. There was no adult supervisor in the classroom at the time, and perhaps he thought he could get away with it. Devlin's version was that he was telling his classmates to be quiet. Once in gym class, he was unable to stand still and was jumping on top of the bleachers. There was the time he was caught in the wrong bathroom with several of his classmates. Not the girls bathroom, but the bathroom for the older boys. Two weeks ago, he received a detention for "fighting".
That's when I became very upset. With Devlin. But also with the school. There were no details accompanying the "fighting" detention slip. We couldn't get a straight story out of Devlin as to the nature of the fighting. I sent a note to the school asking whether it was bullying or horseplay. I received a reply that neither was acceptable. No kidding, but bullying and horseplay are two very different behaviours. One has the potential of injuring another person out of hatred or spite, and another is more reflective of little boys and their high energy levels and mode of play. How can I discipline my child at home, and work with him about appropriate behaviour without knowing all the facts?
After some more pushing, I learned the fighting was simply horseplay between two friends. There was some shoving but no one was complaining of being hurt. The teacher on duty (likely female) told the boys to stop. They did for a bit, and then re-commenced their activities once the teacher was out of sight, as little children do. They got caught again, and this time were sent to the thinking room. Two things wrong here, from my perspective. Since when is physical play a bad thing considering there are no organized sports at recess? Running around and chasing each other is completely normal, and a healthy way for little ones to get some exercise while releasing some pent-up energy. It's totally unrealistic to expect 5 and 6 year olds to sit in a classroom for an entire day without these opportunities to "let go". To take away their recess and send them inside for a detention is not an effective form of punishment. In fact, I would argue it compounds the problem. Without a release, these children will be even more distracted and fidgety when class resumes. Given that he's gone from 2.5 hours of mostly playtime in junior and senior kindergarten to 5.5 hours of sitting at a desk and doing some real "learning", it's understandable that Devlin's been having some difficulty making a smooth transition.
There's been some attention in the media to the issue of boys lagging in our education systems. Record number of women are entering and graduating from university and college, while record numbers of males are not. Has our educational system gone overboard in attempting to attract and keep girls in school? Is there a feminization of our education? There's certainly a disproportionate number of female teachers in the elementary schools. Devlin's school has maybe 3 male teachers. Both the principal and vice-principal are female. While this is great news for women, I wonder how having a school run by a mostly female staff affects boys, particularly their behaviour. There's no question girls and boys behave differently. Girls are quieter, more agreeable, can sit still for longer periods of time while colouring pictures of castles and princesses. Boys are rambunctious, more easily distracted, and eager to act out parts of their favorite superhero adventure. Inevitably they will be treated differently because the same standard of expectations will be placed on them. Boys are disproportionately diagnosed more often with ADHD even though there isn't link to the XY chromosome. Teachers want an orderly classroom of students who sit quietly without tapping their legs or fidgeting in their seats. At the end of the day, does Devlin pretending to be a zombie make him a future juvenile delinquent? Should their unstructured physical activities be curtailed? Is it reasonable to expect a classroom of grade one students will quietly eat their lunch at their desks without adult supervision? Let's not forget that this is the first year that these children have had to eat a lunch at school.
While I can accept that it may take months for Devlin to adjust to the level of decorum the teachers expect, I don't think penalizing normal behaviour with detentions is the answer or solution. It's also very discouraging to both the parents and the student. And what about the academics? Why is there no mention of that, whether good or bad? That's my main concern. If he's lagging in the learning, then the behavioural incidents at school will only increase, and the chances of academic success will correspondingly decrease. By labelling a student as a problem child when it's often a question of maturity will lead to a diminished opportunities for that student to receive academic help. Let's face it - teachers talk amongst themselves, and it takes less energy to work with a "model" student. Humans are inherently lazy, and teachers already view themselves as overworked and underpaid.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Ceilidh Fights Dirty
Some parents might worry over their girls, particularly their daughters' abilities to withstand criticism or taunts. We have no such concerns with respect to Ceilidh. Even when she was a toddler, she was able to stand up to her older brother Devlin. Whenever Devlin got in her way, or took away a toy she was playing with, she took matters into her own hands. Instead of tattling on her brother, or crying, Ceilidh would toddle over to Devlin and bite him. Now, we didn't encourage the biting to continue, and in fact we struggled to squelch that nasty trait, but it was refreshing to see our daughter wasn't a push over.
As she got taller, and eventually reached Devlin's height (yes, my twins who were born 25 months apart), Ceilidh did give up the biting. For pinching. We're working on ridding her of that. There's now less pinching. Because she moved onto simply knocking Devlin over and sitting on him. But only when she's really mad at him. Since she now outweighs her older brother by a couple of pounds, it an effective tool for Ceilidh. (Yet neither weigh enough to get out of the full blown car seat.)
Most days though, when she really wants to irk her brother, she plays the copy cat. You know, that age-old annoying method of repeating EVERY THING the other person says. Anyone who has a sibling, whether older or younger, has partaken in this ritual. I don't know if it's more bothersome to the target, or to the parents who have to listen and then intervene.
Unfortunately, Ceilidh does not respond well to parental efforts at curbing this behaviour. Time-outs on the naughty stool have no effect. Taking away t.v. privileges doesn't seem to bother her either. In fact, I think she thrives on getting a reaction out of Devlin. One day, out of sheer desperation, I told Devlin to say some not-so-nice things about Ceilidh when she started to copy him. Like, "Ceilidh smells bad" or "Ceilidh looks funny". (Yes I know, I'm a horrible mom.)
So, he did. It had the desired effect. Outraged, Ceilidh immediately ceased the mimicking and returned with "I do NOT smell bad! I smell like a princess!" and "I am pretty!"
Unfortunately, this counter-tactic only worked for a few days. Ceilidh caught on quickly, and learned to substitute "Devlin" for "Ceilidh" whenever he tried to verbally spar with her.
Devlin has one weapon up his sleeve though. He is older and in grade one now. That means he can read (a little) and apparently, he knows more. So, every once in awhile, I'll hear this from my son. "Ceilidh, I KNOW [insert topic of discussion], and you don't. I'm in grade one, and I'm older, so I'm right." (Yes, not very original on his part.)
While Ceilidh will usually reply with a growl or a pinch, the other night, she hit below the belt. She looked over at him, and said very sweetly, "Well, I DON'T wear diapers!" referring to his night-time pull-ups.
As an aside:
I know, he's six and he still needs the nighttime pull-ups. There are some nights he makes it through completely dry, but it's a random occurrence. No discernible pattern. Despite the fact that we were all completely night time trained by the time we were two and half years old according to my mother, my son shows no sign of following in my footsteps. After a year or two of stressing over this (particularly since his younger sister Ceilidh has rarely peed during the night, even as an infant), I've decided to let it go. So many parents I've spoken to have said the night time dryness comes on its own. No amount of waking the kid up in the middle of the night is going to hasten the matter. It's all about biology and physiology, and the maturing of the nervous system according to the pediatrician. We've tried to waking up the kid and it was NEVER a pleasant experience. We're not into the restricting all fluids after a certain hour either. I think that borders on cruelty. I mean, my kid is not the only one who is not dry at nighttime. There are pull-ups for kids who are heavier than 80 pounds! So rather than stressing about the night time pee issue, I've decided to focus my energies on curbing Ceilidh's bothersome behaviour. Not that I've had much success with that either.
As she got taller, and eventually reached Devlin's height (yes, my twins who were born 25 months apart), Ceilidh did give up the biting. For pinching. We're working on ridding her of that. There's now less pinching. Because she moved onto simply knocking Devlin over and sitting on him. But only when she's really mad at him. Since she now outweighs her older brother by a couple of pounds, it an effective tool for Ceilidh. (Yet neither weigh enough to get out of the full blown car seat.)
Most days though, when she really wants to irk her brother, she plays the copy cat. You know, that age-old annoying method of repeating EVERY THING the other person says. Anyone who has a sibling, whether older or younger, has partaken in this ritual. I don't know if it's more bothersome to the target, or to the parents who have to listen and then intervene.
Unfortunately, Ceilidh does not respond well to parental efforts at curbing this behaviour. Time-outs on the naughty stool have no effect. Taking away t.v. privileges doesn't seem to bother her either. In fact, I think she thrives on getting a reaction out of Devlin. One day, out of sheer desperation, I told Devlin to say some not-so-nice things about Ceilidh when she started to copy him. Like, "Ceilidh smells bad" or "Ceilidh looks funny". (Yes I know, I'm a horrible mom.)
So, he did. It had the desired effect. Outraged, Ceilidh immediately ceased the mimicking and returned with "I do NOT smell bad! I smell like a princess!" and "I am pretty!"
Unfortunately, this counter-tactic only worked for a few days. Ceilidh caught on quickly, and learned to substitute "Devlin" for "Ceilidh" whenever he tried to verbally spar with her.
Devlin has one weapon up his sleeve though. He is older and in grade one now. That means he can read (a little) and apparently, he knows more. So, every once in awhile, I'll hear this from my son. "Ceilidh, I KNOW [insert topic of discussion], and you don't. I'm in grade one, and I'm older, so I'm right." (Yes, not very original on his part.)
While Ceilidh will usually reply with a growl or a pinch, the other night, she hit below the belt. She looked over at him, and said very sweetly, "Well, I DON'T wear diapers!" referring to his night-time pull-ups.
As an aside:
I know, he's six and he still needs the nighttime pull-ups. There are some nights he makes it through completely dry, but it's a random occurrence. No discernible pattern. Despite the fact that we were all completely night time trained by the time we were two and half years old according to my mother, my son shows no sign of following in my footsteps. After a year or two of stressing over this (particularly since his younger sister Ceilidh has rarely peed during the night, even as an infant), I've decided to let it go. So many parents I've spoken to have said the night time dryness comes on its own. No amount of waking the kid up in the middle of the night is going to hasten the matter. It's all about biology and physiology, and the maturing of the nervous system according to the pediatrician. We've tried to waking up the kid and it was NEVER a pleasant experience. We're not into the restricting all fluids after a certain hour either. I think that borders on cruelty. I mean, my kid is not the only one who is not dry at nighttime. There are pull-ups for kids who are heavier than 80 pounds! So rather than stressing about the night time pee issue, I've decided to focus my energies on curbing Ceilidh's bothersome behaviour. Not that I've had much success with that either.
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