Lately, our son Milo has been having some problems at school and more recently the misbehavior has been spilling over to home life. He has been pushing and hitting his little friends and last night he threw his dinner plate on the floor, something very out of character for him. At only 4 1/2 years old, it can be difficult for him to express his frustrations verbally and getting him to explain what happened to precipitate his actions can be even more difficult.
My husband Bob and I feel he may be the victim of some mild bullying from two older boys in the school yard, but in the meantime, we're trying to deal with his behavior at home and see where it's coming from.
Yesterday, after a particularly difficult morning, I sat down with Milo on his bed to talk about why he had just been in a time out.
"You know that Daddy and I love you very, very much. And it makes us sad to see you struggling. We just want to help you do well at school. We just want you to be happy."
"I am happy," he replied with a smile. "I'm happy that you said that."
And as my little boy and I shared a big hug I thought, maybe the solution isn't as complicated as we imagined.
Happy sweeping!
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
