My son was upset about something in the car. It wasn't a big issue just typical difficult child stuff but he was stuck in the mood and just couldn't let it go. I stayed calm and tried not to engage, this just made him angrier He took off his shoe and threw it at me. The first one missed. The second one hit me in the back of the head. Then he threw something else that knocked my sunglasses off my face. Luckily I was able to keep my eyes on the highway during this. I dedided enough was enough and took the exit and found a parking lot. I stopped the car, got out, and told him how unsafe this was. I told him that I wasn't going to drive until he was calm. He said that he wasn't going to calm down and got out of the van. I said that I was going to call his dad to come and help me get him home. He tried to knock the phone out of my hand and then took off running. It was a dangerous area due to the amount of traffic. He kept getting further and further away so I called 911. The operator stayed on the line with me which was good because we ended up a long way from where we were parked. difficult child was always several hundred yards away from me and would run if I started moving towards him. The cop pulls up to the side of the road and difficult child runs back towards me. The cop meets up with us and I tell him what is going on. difficult child says that he is sorry and won't do it again. The cop notices he is wearing a tae kwon do uniform and uses that as a way to discuss how he should be in conotrol of himself like he in tae kwon do. This launches difficult child into a discussion of tae kwon do class and the forms he is learning. Now I am annoyed, I steer the conversation back to the issue at hand. I was lookig for something more stern from the cop. difficult child did not need a pep talk he needed to understand the seriousness of the situation. So difficult child is calm at this point and we thank the cop and head back to the car. difficult child is all bubbly and excited from the experience. He is chatting like there was nothing unusual about the whole thing. I am about to have my own temper tantrum but I keep my voice calm. You do realize that there is going to be consequences for this don't you? I ask him. I won't do it again, he says. This is a big deal, you could have caused us to have an accident in the van and you might have been hit by a car when you ran away. Can I play outside when we get home, he asks. No, I say. Can I watch a movie? No, I say. Then I'm not going home, he yells and runs in the other direction. I watch him a minute to see if he's coming back but then he starts down the road. I follow but he is way ahead of me. I call 911 again, quickly explain, and ask for the officer to come back. Seems like forever and difficult child is covering a lot of ground. At this point, I can no longer see difficult child, the cop drives by and I see him turn into a parking lot. difficult child sees him and takes off running away from the cop. The cop gets out, runs after him, grabs difficult child, takes him down and cuffs him. Then he stuffs him in the back of the police car. He drives to where I am. difficult child is crying and looks scared to death. This time the cop is not nice. He tells difficult child that he is taking up too much of his time and if he picks him up again, he's talking him to jail. difficult child is silent and this doesn't happen ever. We get home and difficult child cooperates fully in the bedtime routine. Consider yourself under house arrest I tell him. There are no priviledges. He just nods and says that he never wants to go to jail. I hope he remembers that.
So how long do I punish him for this? Any logical consequences for somelike this?
Christy
So how long do I punish him for this? Any logical consequences for somelike this?
Christy