Can you believe this?
I had a play date with a mom I had met at a park. She seemed cool & our kids go along ok. She asked for my number & last name, which I thought was strange. Anyhow, about a week later she called & suggested a play date at her house. I went over on a Wednesday afternoon & the trouble started.
She was very into this 1-2-3 Magic way of disciplining her kids. I had never heard of it & was curious to hear more. Well did I hear more alright… Her oldest was misbehaving. He was taking toys out of my kid’s hands, hitting his little sister, throwing cars. Normal kid stuff, but this mom wasn’t having any of it. “Jerome! 1-2-3…ok, that’s it, back in your Time-Out chair”. This happened over and over again. She explained to me she had to be consistent in order for this to work. I get it. If Jerome didn’t do what she wanted by the count of 3, he was strapped into his Time-Out chair for 3 minutes.
Little Jerome basically spent the entire 2 hour play date strapped in his Time-Out chair. The chair was an old high chair that he was actually too big for. She strapped him in and he sat there getting really mad while watching my kids play with his toys. It didn’t seem like a good thing for anyone. I told her I thought we should leave and try again another day. She said ok. He was set free to try one more time to play with the kids. A Weeble Wobble suddenly went flying through the air hitting my son. “Jerome, back in the chair” This was a terribly uncomfortable play date. 1-2-3 Magic wasn’t so magical. I’ll stick to taking away toys.
Efud
Hey, at Least she was trying to discipline her kid for inappropriate actions and behavior. I do respect that. If Jerome was having a bad day, at least with consistency, he will get the hint that he’s simply not allowed to do these things, so he might eventually come around and pays better. Obviously, he needs some positive discipline as well, but, carrot and stick, that is the way it goes sometimes those kids. It’s awkward to be around as a third party, which would make me want to get out of there fast, but still, I truly do appreciate that at least she is trying and not letting her kid beat up on your kids.
BadPlaydate
I totally agree with you! It was so awkward though.
Scarlett
Strapped? That is abusive. With a mom like that no wonder the kid has problems.
Laura
I say kudos to the mom for discipline and consistency. Sometimes it sucks. But its good for kids. Its called parenting. I would most definitely put my kids in timeout for throwing a toy at someone.
BadPlaydate
Yep, she was on it, that’s for sure! Thanks for your comment.
Jessie
Not sure which is worse…a parent who disciplines all the time for even the smallest infraction or parents who don’t discipline at all.
My neighbors do this NEW parenting thing…it’s called Silent Parenting…so the neighbor lady tells me.
This is how it she explained it to me:
If your child burns your house to the ground, you turn your back on it and ignore them.
If they bring home an A on their report card you run out and buy them whatever it is that they desire.
So…you ignore ANY and ALL bad behavior and reward any good behavior.
Ok…that might work in some cases…but not in all.
My little guy knows that hitting and biting, breaking other people’s toys, being rude, being bossy, and forgetting to say please and thank you are not appropriate behavior.
Their children will come over uninvited… ( they just open the door and walk in )…they then proceed to help themselves to whatever they want. They break toys, they demand gum, they bite, they hit, blah blah blah.
I send them home. I tell them that this is MY house and MY rules apply. I tell them to go ahead and run home to mommy and daddy…and if they don’t like it, they don’t have to come back…but they always do.
I’ll see them outside sometimes ( the parents ) and they’ll ask if ” they were ok “…why bother? If I tell the dad that we had a bit of an issue ( let’s say they broke a toy on purpose ) he says ” Okay kids! Swimming time! We’ll stop at DQ for ice cream on the way home!”
He never offers to fix or pay for the broken toy…and the worse the kids are the better the treat he gives them…ugh!
SO…I started telling him that they were perfect angels…and the treats seemed to cease for awhile. lol
Can hardly wait to see how these kids grow up. The oldest is a full on bully, and the little one was asked not to return to pre-school or daycare.
When I was a kid, we didn’t get away with anything. You were well behaved at your friend’s house…why? Because you KNEW that if you were bad your friend’s mom would smack you and then call your mom…who would smack you when you walked in the door.
BadPlaydate
Jessie, they sound awful. I’d get an attack dog sign and hang it on my door if I were you! I have a post about how to do that. Check it out!