Things That Make Ya Wanno Go AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I've encountered some behaviors this week that leave me perplexed. Choosing the right way to respond and manage the situations has been very difficult. And I don't know when I've done the right thing. I do suspect that it will take time to get this situation straightened out.

For some unknown reason, my darling son has taken to screaming when I ask him questions. He will also smack his hand on the table. Hard. On top of this he will also buzz his lips, like a french horn player would need to do to play his instrument. The resulting sound is very often accompanied by copious amounts of spittle. This has happened two days this week in a major way.

First day of it. I completely ignored the behaviors. He increased the intensity of the screams and hitting. I never flinched, winced, or otherwise acknowledged he was doing it. So, he would even try to tell me, with words, what he was doing. Sometimes I ignored his words. Other times I would respond with a simple, and bland, "oh" before continuing to present the activity we were working on. By the end of the school time, we managed to get most everything accomplished that had been planned. He assumed he'd be allowed to do the fun stuff he wanted to do. Didn't quite work that way! I took away computer privileges, DVD privileges.

Today was the second day of it. I wrote down the normal operating rules for talking to Mom. Didn't phase him. I gave him a lecture. He quieted down for maybe 15 minutes after that. Then behaviors resumed. And luckily for me, this was happening at the grocery store. We needed milk and bread, so HAD to go. Back home in the school room, he resumed the behaviors. I started with ignoring things. I started recording how long it took for me to elicit an answer for each question. Nothing phased him.

Finally, I calmly stood up. I put away everything. I turned off the lights. I told him that when he was ready to really work, he could come find me. I didn't have time to put up with his behaviors. I had too much to do. I then headed upstairs and started to clean up things. I put toys away, changed sheets on the beds, the usual necessary household chores.

He followed me around quietly. His face was a perfect show of confusion. What in the world was Mom doing? She had never done anything like this before! He told me he was ready to work, albeit with a whiny voice. I ignored the first time he said it. The second time, I told him I didn't believe him and why I didn't believe him.

After the third time, I went back downstairs and told him to follow me. I pulled out some math worksheets that were full of nothing but single-digit addition problems. I told him that when he was done with those, then we could talk.

I figured that if he didn't want to work when I tried to keep things engaging and interesting, I would oblige him and make sure the activities would be very dull.

The other option he had was to take a nap. He ended up deciding that was a good idea.

Maybe he was in the midst of a growth spurt. But that still is no excuse for the behaviors. Hopefully next week will go much better!