Grim-Faced Fairness

"You're mean!" Shane said.

No surprise. Shane's dramatic.

He was mad, because I held him to his word. Shane took three bites of dinner, and then said, "I'm full!"

Carrie had cooked.

I didn't want Shane to ask for a fruit bar, candy, or some other food 10 minutes later. I said, "If you're really full, that's fine. You don't have to eat anymore. This will be your last food for the night though if I throw it away..."

It was 7:00 PM or so. Bedtime was around 8:30 PM.

"Throw it away. I'm full!" Shane said.

Lo and behold, he wanted more food less than an hour later. He wasn't happy when he didn't get any, either.

"Shane, we give you the power to make the choice. You have to live with whatever it is."

Well, he didn't like it.

Maybe it's tough for a six year old to process that.

I want Shane to learn that his choices have consequences (good and bad), and there're his (good and bad). I want Shane to learn to eat food instead of throwing it away (it's extra annoying if he orders something at a restaurant and is suddenly 'full'). I'm always hoping that I'm doing it right.

I feel like I'm stricter on Shane than my parents were on me. Part of that has to be because he's an only child. There's no one else to distract or take the heat.

Carrie's another part of it. She was raised in a stricter household. There are things that don't bother me, but bother her.

Then there's work. I have one student in mind who hasn't been held accountable for almost anything in life. It shows. I don't want Shane to go that route.

Time will tell if we're raising Shane right.