I’m not sure if I should blame the time change, the Halloween weekend of chaos and candy, or the increase in sleep-disturbing nightly growing pains – but Wes has had a bad week.
Yes. I’m aware it’s only Wednesday.
There have been emails from teachers and notes sent home that have to be signed and bad remarks on behavior reports. He also lost his lunchbox.
We are having good talks about it all, and with me he seems to be okay. At least he’s not the chaotic ball of insanity he seems to be at school. This alone is actually a nice change, he’s usually much worse for me than anyone else. I’m trying different techniques and talking points and verbal triggers to encourage better behavior, but I also know a lot of it is out of my control. Especially if his sleep keeps getting disrupted.
(I’m writing this at 2:45am because I’ve been up since he woke up after midnight with leg cramps.)
He did write this story though, which I like to think shows some sort of awareness of self and situation.
It’s going to be another Tired Day but I’m hoping still for a better outcome. If there’s any kid in the world that would benefit from “unschooling” – especially on a schedule more conducive to his sleep patterns – I feel like it would be him. But I’d have to find a way to earn income in random hours throughout the day/night from home and I don’t see that job arising any time soon.
Finger’s crossed for a day where our behavior clip at least stays where it starts – I’m no looking for a “good” shift upwards, just maybe a day where we don’t shift down at all would be nice!
Hugs. Can you really get in trouble for playing in the lunch room? Seems like schools just suck the life out of kids these days.
My son has the same behavior fluctuations. I feel ya. We’re on a good streak recently. I started adding fish oil supplements to his diet, and I know it’s probably not attributable to that, but I’ll take it. And, he’ll definitely keep taking those fish oil capsules.
How are essential oils going for you? I’ve been curious since you mentioned them. I just started dabbling in them. I’m putting thieves on my kids’ feet daily, and I have some calming blends that smell nice, but I’m not sure if they help.
Have you tried pickle juice for the leg cramp. I freeze the juice and have my granddaughter eat on before bed. It really helps
Aw. Maybe if he wrote about how to handle the incidents beforehand that would help? I know I’m pulling this assvice out of, well, my ass, but since he shows awareness of self in his writing and the verbal triggers seem to be helping a bit, maybe having him write things out *before* they become a problem can be beneficial and help him find solutions and make them stick. Just a thought. Hope things get better.
We unschooled our 14 year old last year because of issues at school. He’s enrolled in K12 and his entire personality has changed (for the better.) I’m lucky enough that I can work from home if I need to, but he’s also at the age where he’s self motivated and wants to succeed (now) so I don’t have to all the time.