I have to record this incident as it is still fresh in my mind.

The 10-year-old boy in my house feels like a horse out of reins, a bird out of cage, totally free when his mother is far away. Thus some behavior issues followed. I threatened to tell his mother.  It worked until he found out I would not tell at all.  Why should I when I know the mother, being so far away, cannot do anything at all?  Also, it is not pleasant for any mom to learn of the problems with her children.  So I make the point of not telling his mother anything she did not want to hear.

The day before yesterday, 10/28/2008,  when the boy spattered water while taking shower, I told him not to. He would not listen and did not care if I told his mother.  ”Go ahead telling my mom,” he anticipated this and told me not without a challenge.  

I tried to figured out what was going on in his mind at that moment.  First of all, he knew I was too nice to say something unpleasant about him to his mother and have not ever done this before, which is absolutely true.  Secondly, even if I do tell on him, he can always explain away his problems to his mother, which is also absolutely true. Thirdly, he thinks I am simply at my wit’s end and all I could do was telling his mother.  I think he has too much underestimated my mental power.  I would be a fool if I fall into this booby trap. 

So I said, “I am not going to tell anyone.  I can handle everything. If you do it again, I will simply open the bathroom door and shut down the water.”  He knows I am serious from my tone. No more was said on it any more.  Yesterday, he did not play with water in shower as he had done before.

On reading English book, He would not listen to me when I asked him to. So I talked to his teacher, asking her to make reading homework for him. So she did. Yesterday I told him he would tremendously displease his teacher if he did not do what his teacher asked. The trick worked so far. I will have to think of something else when it stops working.

This further proves loving care alone won’t always work. Sometimes tacts and tricks can help in parenting.  This piece is too interesting to miss.