Shannon the Good

Shannon is three... and a bit...so expecting perfect behaviour from her is not really an option. She has, however, usually been fairly well behaved... until last week. For the first time EVER at school, Shannon was sent to time out... twice! I mentioned to her teacher that she was behaving in a very un-Shannon manner at home and the teacher mentioned her transgressions in the classroom as well! So we had a 'chat'. Yes, Sean and I actually had the 'D' chat with Shannon, you know the one: "we are very Dissappointed in you!' (I am inclined to believe that this particular word was actually brought into existence with parents in mind as NOTHING was more effective from my own when I was young, and in fact it is still the word I dread the most from the people who really matter!) Except that beacuse she is 3 and might misinterpret the D word as something good, we said it made us sad! Shannon said: "I won't do it again Dad, and tomorrow I will say sorry to Bronwyn" (the teacher) which she did... as soon as we arrived at school! Shannon has been an absolute PLEASURE ever since.

The upside of this is that 'time out' works VERY well for Shannon wherever she is, threaten her with it and she modifies her behaviour straight away! What it does mean is that while she is coming to terms with the new methods of discipline in the home, ALL her dolls and teddys have spent time in 'time out' too!

Long may it last as this seems to have made her into a much happier and more settled person... come to think of it, when I am feeling grumpy and out of sorts, I could do with being sent somewhere quiet to think about things too!

And now for something completely different... Shannon has just told me that she needs to 'pop quickly', and that her action man doll has a 'kigger' instead of a nose! What is that about?