Crime and Punishment

I was all set to write a post about the value of saying you’re sorry to your children when you’ve messed up.

See, yesterday Boo dashed outside after doing his chores.  He didn’t ask if he could go out and I needed him to stay in.  Then, as I passed the playroom, I saw that he did not clean it completely, the way he’s been taught.  In his rush to go out, he’d done a sloppy job.

I was tired, frustrated, in a rush and angry and I wanted him to know.  I gathered up the offending toys, took away his Game Boy and grounded him for the rest of the weekend.

Ha.  I showed him who’s boss around here.

After he’d gone to bed, I realized I was a bit harsh.  I decided to allow him to play with his friends over the weekend, but no Game Boy and no more going out after chore time.

This morning I found out from the magic of the Mom Network, that Boo and his posse had been playing War again.  It’s usually younger boys vs older boys in the neighborhood, and nothing good ever comes out of it.  Boo and his buddy next door have been told not to play anymore.

I thought something was up yesterday when the older boys were out behind our backyard with lightsabers.  But I was in a hurry and I didn’t follow up on it.  When my suspicions were confirmed during a phone call today, I knew Boo was in for it.

I asked him point blank, “Were you playing war yesterday.”  Sadly, my boy was not honest with me until I revealed that I already knew that he was because I had talked to one of the boys’ moms.

Poor kid.  I had him and he knew it.  With one poor decision, he torpedoed his whole weekend.  And now for the listing of his punishments:

For running out after chore time without permission – staying inside after chores.  No exceptions, don’t even ask.
For  incorrectly doing his chores -  loss of the toys not put away (must earn them back) and no Game Boy for the weekend
For playing War – no playing with friends all weekend.
For lying- no playing with friends  on Monday and Tuesday, either

I could have been harder on him, but I saw true remorse.  He’s normally a very trustworthy and honest boy, so I saw no need to really land on him.  Plus, he’s very social, so even these 4 days are likely going to nearly kill him.

Sigh.

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