My husband and I discussed our seven year old a lot this weekend. He has a great heart and has always been loyal as can be, but we have seen a change in him over the past semester. Bullying (his younger siblings) and "too big for his britches" have been added to his "about me" section, and we don't like it one bit!
I would love to isolate him this summer and remind him who he is, where he's from, and what our expectations are. He gets so caught up in "being embarrassed" (ugh, that's from self-conscious me) and worrying about what everyone is thinking around him! So a nice little 7/8 size bubble would be perfect! No, I know that's not the solution, but wouldn't that be a great fix?
On our almost 12 hr drive home today, we decided to be sure to instill good old fashion responsibility this summer and remind the boys that they are part of this family and everyone needs to work to keep it going. Our verbage has always been, "Your family is first, and they are the people that will be here for you...forever" and we hope to give our oldest a good dose of priorities... If it were up to him, he would leave us all in the dust to keep up with his friends and win their approval.
I am sure you will hear many updates on our summer project of getting our 18 year old- minded son back to the 8 year old size again. And I am almost guaranteed that this will be a project that will continue with the other boys well into the rest of our next 15+ years!
I was this kid, and now, my first-born is as well. Since turning 5, he has offered a whole new set of challenges, the first being some major back-talking, arguing and constant negotiating. It is driving me nuts. But seriously, I was this kid Angie. As much as I resisted my parents and their strict rules and high expectations, they stuck. My parents NEVER laid off or gave up, no matter how much I resisted. I rebelled when I first got out of the house, but soon realized where I came from, and that they were right, and turned it around to come back and finally appreciate and love my parents for the upbringing they gave me. I feel like my oldest is the same way, and I take comfort in knowing that even though we might not be great friends with him while he is growing up (I don't care about being his friend anyway), that he will 'get it', and appreciate us one day...
ReplyDeleteThat's what frustrates me the most with him...HE'S ME!! I totally see myself at his age, and hear my parents in my voice! Thanks for commenting, Jen. Good to know I am not alone! And I agree, my parents did a great job sticking to their expectations, so I have to remember we may not reap the appreciation till I am in my 50's! LOL
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