Parker dropped his afternoon nap about a month ago but we still go through the motions after lunch and bring him to his room, read some books, and lay him down in bed for a "rest". He usually stays there for an hour or two and then we go get him. Since he wasn't doing any actual sleeping, sometimes we give him a big pile of books that he quietly reads to himself. Today when April went up to check on him, he had torn 3 pages out of Go Dog Go, the new book we just bought him!
He's never really destroyed stuff before, so we wanted to send a message that we mean business. We took all the books out of his room and he's not allowed to have them back for a few days. We also told him we weren't going read any stories after lunch or before bed time. When we were first telling him about it and giving him his punishment this afternoon, he was kind of nonchalant about it. But tonight when we went to put him to bed after his bath, it really hit home that we were serious and he wasn't going to get to read any books with us. He started to cry a little bit and told us that he wasn't going to rip or throw his books and that he'd take care of them and be nice to them. Even though it's hard to see him upset, it's good to know that he actually does value the books and the time we spend reading with him. He'll get them back in a few days (probably by Saturday) and hopefully he learns an important lesson.
Just so that you know, my heart breaks every time I read this...Parker has such a gentle heart, I can only imagine how hurt he is to have displeased you. Having said all that, I agree with you!
ReplyDeleteHe has his books back! Hooray! And he says he's not going to rip them or throw them. He's going to be nice to them. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd? How's it going with the books? Hannah hasn't done that ever either!
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