Monday, September 13, 2010

A Rather Violent Reaction

Yesterday was a fast day, and rather than doing what I should have been doing, I opted to spend more than the usual amount of time on the computer. Ricki was upset by this, and actually started yelling at me. When that didn’t work, she kicked me. When THAT didn’t work (and only brought a calm warning of eminent withdrawal of ALL privileges), she stopped.
I handled it well, but I am shocked that she would attempt to kick me!

3 comments:

RivkA with a capital A said...

Wow, that is certainly crossing a line.

I am curious if you feel that a warning was sufficient to convey the magnitude of the act?

I am trying to reduce punitive actions these days, but sometimes I wonder if the message that what they are doing is wrong is strong enought.

Staying Afloat said...

About the kicking- I'm not surprised. Sorry!

Which is not to say it's not bad. E. did the exact same thing yesterday when his behaviorist showed up before he finished building his new lego set, which he'd been looking forward to for the whole three day chag, having earned it through davening and good behavior. And hitting her is not normal for him.

While this is not an excuse, allow me to offer an explanation.

Ricky just went through three days straight of Shabbos/Yom Tov, which is not normal for you guys. The computer is something she usually enjoys, and she may have been looking forward to it the whole time. She may have also suffered from the lack of her normal routine.

Finally, there is a regular day. But she cannot use the computer as planned, because the routine seems to have changed again! Ima is not doing her normal things- she is taking away the computer, on a day Ricky can usually use it, and Ricky has done nothing wrong!

Obviously, again, not an excuse, and I'm impressed that you stood strong and calm. You took care of it the way you needed to, and it may be less likely to happen again.

tesyaa said...

Five of my 6 kids wanted to use the computers (2) yesterday. I'm surprised there wasn't a lot of violence. And I actually got to check my work email!