But Can We Have Mickey Mouse?

I had this titled. "Poor Impulse Control" because this is what the post is about.  I wrote not a week ago about the difficulty my son has in controlling himself in certain situations.   It's the, "whatever you do, don't press the red button," syndrome.   The only thing you want to do is push that red button.   Some people can control the urge, my son, given his age and personality (and mostly his age) simply can not.

Before bath time today, my children asked for a television show I am so over (Transformers Rescue Bots.)   I have seen enough of this television show and I think there are other, educational-based shows that would be good for them to request.   It's not a bad show, but no, I said, they weren't getting it today.   I told them after their bath, they could watch something but I would decide what.

Then, my son asked for his favorite show again.  I told him we weren't watching it and if he asked again, he wouldn't get to watch it tomorrow either.   He had already asked about six times—in a row—and I had told him no.  I was starting to remember it wasn't good to be a broken record as a parent and I was encouraging the behavior of repeated asking.

Naturally, my son asked again for the show.   He tried to mask the ask by changing the phrasing, but five seconds after that, he directly asked, so I told him he wouldn't get to watch it tomorrow either.    Wailing.   Moaning.   Crying.   All the expected results occurred.    I moved them into the bathroom and they soon forgot about the show, because they simply love bath time.

When they were out and getting dressed, the asking started again.   This time, it was about Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I said, "no".   They asked again.   I said, "I said no, don't ask again."   My daughter gave up but my son protested.   I told him if he asked one more time, they wouldn't watch a single thing on television tonight.    He asked again, not ten seconds later.   I told them television was not happening, at all, tonight now.    Then, he asked again, and again, and more desperately again and I told him if he didn't stop, he was going straight to bed (one hour early.)

He asked again.   So I took him to his room and told him he was done for the day, I took him to his room completely naked and said don't come out (which he understands and does well.)   I got his sister ready to have her hair dried and went back upstairs to talk to him.   At this point, he had calmed down.   He understood everything.   He was saying, "I'm not coming out of the room.  Mom, I'm not asking again.  Can we read books tonight?"   He was a centered, child in flow and he was for lack of a better word, happy.

I calmly talked to him while I put on the medication for his eczema, rubbed him down with lotion and helped him put on his pajamas.   Oh, he had threatened to pee on the floor during the commotion earlier.   I asked him if he had done so, because I told him he would spend a lot of time cleaning the carpet up.   He said, "no, I peed in the potty."

We talked about what books he wanted to have read to him and I suggested he pick some out so dad could read them when he got done with his work.  I left the room and my son was completely fine.

I think he learned a lesson tonight.   I hope he will remember being unhappy and losing the option to watch something on television because they got ready for bed early.   We'll see what happens next time I say, "don't ask me again or else..."

The Big Boy Update:  My son likes honey.  He said this morning as he ate his english muffin with honey, "mom, I don't want us to give our honey to the bees."

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  There was a show on the television yesterday with a female actor with blonde hair like my daughter's.   My daughter said, "yesterday, I was in that show."  I thought she was talking about the blonde female but when I asked her she said, "But not a girl, I was a boy."

Fitness Update:  Rock and Roll Las Vegas.   Some of us (okay, me and Uncle Jonathan's good friend, Margaret) are gunning to go to the Las Vegas Rock and Roll marathon.   I told our trainer about it today and have made a few phone calls to get some other people interested.   It's a multi-day event in early November, so I don't know if I can find child care for the duration, but they close down the strip, start the marathon at four in the afternoon and you run back into town to the lights of the Las Vegas strip.   Oh, and there's music all along the way.    Talk about a fun marathon.