Sunday, February 28, 2010

David Weekly, V3 - 7

The hardest part about being a parent is recording all the funny things your child says. (Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating) The other morning I got a complete explanation of how Corn Pops is made, because it has vegetables and eggs and other things in it. These are the things listed on the back of the box (in the form of little pictures), with some text about good eating and being healthy. Of course, he can't read all of that, so watching him come up with a story and filling in the details was something to watch.

Thursday night David had a special brownie that I bought for him as a reward for the big improvement he's had this week. Tuesday he had another genuinely bad day, and got in big trouble. I was so mad at him! But I think it impressed upon him how serious the behavior thing is to me, since he was so much better Wednesday and Thursday. I have to give credit to the school, too, though. They've been great at dealing with him. And I know they appreciate my support of them, because one day he was not listening to one of the "teachers" at all, but I got there just as this was happening and put him in time out for not listening to the teacher. He was surprised, and sat down where I said and just cried. The next day he was listening better.

I finally got the pictures of the daycare, too. They can be viewed at http://web.me.com/rhires/Site/Photos.html You may have to copy and paste the link into your browser.

I have trouble getting him to sit still, at the table, when we eat. A lot of times I will tell him to sit back down and he says, "But I just want to give you a hug, Daddy..." In particular this is at a hamburger joint called Five Guys. We also went to "church" again. He didn't like the music very much. Also on Sunday I had a headache and told him I wasn't feeling well. He said, "I'm sorry you don't feel good." Such a sweetie. And then, like a kid in a car, "Are you feeling better, yet?" David was so full of energy that day, too. We went to the park and walked around, and played on the equipment. He really enjoyed himself. And isn't doing the "hit other kids as he runs by them" thing that he used to do. He's also getting good at "time to go!" I'll warn him a few times, then he'll get impatient with me if I don't go, even when he's having fun.

As a way to help him deal with his desire to hit other kids, I tell David about his strong brain. He really likes this. I say that he doesn't have to hit because his brain is so strong. I asked him why he hits and he says because they won't stop talking. I tell him he can just talk back, and not hit, and that his strong brain will help him not hit, and enable him to say things back to the other kids. It's a process to get him where he needs to be. As part of his reward, I let him see Avery and Jared during the week, but for this week, I let him stay the night at Rachel's, on a Friday night.

Finally, he was asking "When will I see my mom?" I say, "About 7 weeks." David says he wants to live in both places.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

David Weekly, V3 - 6

It's been a long week for David. He's continuing to have issues with hitting, and fighting at this new school.

David at school on Monday told me that he didn't like a certain boy at school, so his first choice was to hit him, and otherwise try to physically dominate him. I asked why he was doing this, and he said, "Because I don't like him. Because he tries to hit me..." I said that he does not have to like the boy, but he cannot hit him. Ms Nadine was a party to this, and had a talk with him, to give him some different choices, like staying away from him, or trying to be nice, and maybe he'll be nice back. David had a lot of trouble with this, and was crying…he wasn't in trouble. This kind of transition in thinking is hard for him.

Tuesday and Wednesday, same thing. I began trying to come up with ways to reward or penalize him for doing or not doing what he needs to so he stops fighting. We were going to see his cousins on Wednesday, but because he was fighting....we didn't go. Thursday he actually had a good day, and when I went to pick him up, he almost attacked me with "Can I have some treats?" That was the reward for being good. He got a cupcake. Friday he was good almost up until I got to his school. One of the things I told him was to tell the teacher any time he wants to hit someone. We even practiced it once or twice. He had a hard time with it, but did do it, and it helped. It's going to be a process to get him over this issue.

Friday night we went to my friend's house, Tracy. David got to play with William, Tracy's son. I got some good advice on helping David learn how to use his words, not his hands. That should help, too.

It hasn't been much of a week.

Something I struggle with

Is sending out the David Weekly, specifically to Amanda, David's mother. She has not responded at all to the latest issue with David's change of schools, etc. She called it, on her fb page, "the weekly idiot email." I realize that since she pulled up stakes and left her son, that he can't be that important to her, but that at the same time, she really does love him and (as far as I can tell) do the right thing by him when they're together. I know how difficult it is to call when he's with her, but I still do it. She's obviously not strong enough to call me when I have him, which is most of the time. And she's so angry. I think she nurses it, rather than tries to let it go.

I'm told that it's not my place/responsibility/whatever to try make her be a better, more involved, parent. I agree. I can't make her do anything. However, I believe it is my duty to let her know what's going on with David. She can choose to read it, or not. I'm not doing it for her benefit, but for David's.

I'm told that I am doing David a disservice, since she's going to know him better than she otherwise would, and that since I'm doing her job by volunteering information she's not asking for, it's basically lying to him about her interest in his life. Because if she was truly interested, she would ask. I know she can't ask, that it's beyond her ability to ask. She's just too angry. And too superior. But she is interested, because I do know she is at least reading them. I am doing him a favor, I think, given her limited capacity. She's emotionally stunted, and not brave/strong enough to do what's right. He's going to find out at some point what her limits are, just like I found out what my own father's limits are. But I can protect him from that ugly truth until he's older, better able to handle it.

I remember my mother saying how my father was "sick"...I don't believe that's true, or was true. I think that men are just built differently than women, and women don't/won't get men who can just leave their offspring so "easily." What I do know is that I would have been better off if my mother had never said anything to me, or lied to me about what was going on, until I was old enough to handle the truth that he was like Amanda: just not capable of doing the right thing.

I believe that I'm doing the right thing by keeping her informed about her son, so that even though she's not doing the work of inquiring, he still benefits by her knowing him, knowing more about him. That way his mother isn't such a stranger when he goes to see her. And he isn't such a stranger to her. Because that's another thing I hated about my own childhood: my father not knowing me, not knowing who I was, or what I might like or not like. Why should David have to suffer that if I can prevent it? I can't make her be a parent. But I can help her, which in turn helps David.

And why isn't it my responsibility? Why can't I do everything I can for him? Why do I believe it so strongly, but everyone else is so contrary to this logic? I can't figure that one out.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

I love being a dad...

I love being a father most when he comes to me in the morning, and asks me to hold him, in a chant almost: hold-me hold-me hold-me...and then I just plop him on my lap and we watch TV together, and kiss him on his head.

I love it when he tells me things. I love it when he listens. I love picking him up from daycare: "Daddy!" I love dropping him off, when he has no use for me: "You can go now!" (It shows his independence, and his growth.) I love writing about him, and watching his development, and change. I love how he fills my life, because when he's with his mom, my life is pretty empty. Not that I can't fill the time, or have my own life, but there's nothing like having this child in my life to worry about when he gets a fever, or giving him a bath, to make sure he goes to bed on time, gets a story or two read to him, and me looking in a sleeping boy who would rather wear his clothes to bed to sleep than the Scooby-Doo pajamas.

It's all kinds of wonderful to have this child in my life.

Friday, February 12, 2010

David Weekly, V3 - 5

Eggs are the all-purpose, eat any time food. We have them for breakfast, or dinner, and once in a while, for lunch. David has suddenly decided that he likes fried eggs, instead of scrambled. This is quite a surprise. I haven't got the slightest idea where he would have had fried eggs to decide that he likes them. I was making him scrambled eggs, and he complained that they were fried...

David and I went to the beach on Saturday night, as part of an organized activity for Single Parents. He had a blast! It was windy and cold, but that really didn't matter. David was playing like the wind was blowing him away, and I would catch him. After it got dark, a bunch of us went to a woman's house with some of the people and their kids. He was a bit of behavior problem on this night, but it was terrible. I was a little worried given the fighting issues that he'd been having at his school. Later on, we were all sitting around a table, and a little girl was quietly pointing at his hand...

Sunday we went to a Superbowl party, and he was much better in terms of behavior. At one point he actually left the other kids inside the house and went outside to play in the sandbox. He did so well, when it was time to eat, he went with the other kids and sat and ate. Later on, he got to playing on the couch, taking turns, with the other kids. One boy was Matthew, about David's age, and I don't remember the younger boy's name.

So picking David up from his first day (really second day) at his new daycare/school, I was told that he had had a little issue in the morning. When I dropped him off, he started doing some faux karate moves, like Power Rangers. Ms. Nadine told me that he was told "we want to be your friends, and we like you, but don't fight." And he just stopped. It was that simple. And the rest of the day he was just fine. He saw a pair of identical twins, and asked them why they were alike. It was quite a puzzle to him.

And he is doing just so well at his new school! One of the problems I've always had at the old school was that I could never watch him without him seeing me or being aware that I was there. I can do that now. So I watch him, and he plays so well with the other boys. He gets along just fine. I was at the school on Wednesday morning, and he almost kicked me out of the school..."Ok, Dad, you can leave!" And he even did the "shoo" hand motion. I talked to him about not having to fight, or show off, and he said he likes that better, too. It was definitely something about the environment there, and it's clear that this change is a benefit. I regret that I forgot to take pictures this week of the new school. I will try to remember this coming week to take pictures. Ms Nadine is quite a communicator, which is another benefit of having moved David. I feel like I'm getting a much better idea of what's going on with him.

Thursday morning was a rough one for the boy. I woke him up with about 15 minutes before we needed to leave. This is not enough time to get him up and out, as I discovered. I had to wake him up, first of all. Through tears, he asked for 30 more minutes, and I said, no, we have to leave! I promised to wake him up earlier from now on, if he doesn't get up on his own. That got a big smile out of him and then we were ready to go. The new schedule is hard, since it's a change. We'll get used to it. Normally he gets to wake up on his own. Friday morning, I woke him up, and that worked out much better.

David knows how to commit to the moment: He plays at being sucked backwards and he does not stop! If I don't catch him, he really will just keep going. It's very funny to watch...

Friday night, David had a fever at school, which developed just before I got there to get him. His ears and cheeks were bright red with fever. I got him home and bundled him up. Avery and Jared and Rachel all came over, and David said (after I gave him some Children's Tylenol, which did bring his fever down) that he would always share with his cousins the candy he got for Valentine's Day. He was very happy to have received a card in the mail from Mimi. He loves to get mail in his name. So send whatever you can think of to him, whenever you might think of it.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

David Weekly, V3 - 4

All day Saturday, David has been asking to paint his "foam flyers", little foam planes that he can paint. We finally got to do it. He's a happy child. We took a walk and he noticed as he was talking about something, and the last words in his sentence were "two, too", and then he realized it, and laughed at himself, and repeated it: "two, too!"

Routine is very important to David. He does not let me forget to brush his teeth, and we have to do the nose spray. If I forget, he reminds me.

David showed Cinnamon a mop my mother got me, and he says, "Look what I got! A mop!" He's excited about getting a mop. It's amazing what this kid likes and thinks is his.

He got to spend Tuesday night with his cousins, and ate some chili, very mild. He complained that it was "spice," though. But he ate it, and didn't complain. It's just getting him past that first "I don't wike it!" issue.

Wednesday, something major happened with David. I was giving him a bath, and I saw on his back two different bruises. One of them is about the size of an adult's pinky finger, and the other was red, and as if his skin was rubbed raw quickly through the shirt. I asked him how he got these, and of course, he says he doesn't know. I let it pass.

The next morning I took him to school like normal, and asked Ms. Sandra, one of his teachers, about the bruises on his back. I even took David to a private area of the room where no one else could see to show her these bruises. She told me that David had been in a fight. And then proceeded to tell me that he was on top of another boy, beating down on him (David straddling the other boy, who was on the ground). This other boy is older and bigger than him, by the way. She also said that he and this other boy were in the room alone, unsupervised, and that while she could see this transpire, was unable to get to them because she saw them through the window of a locked door. The time of this incident was about 2:45 PM.

I was not told of it Wednesday; I had to ask Thursday after seeing the bruises. I was not provided with any kind of incident report at any point. I withdrew David from Gabriel's Glen Thursday, got a VPK transfer form, and he is now enrolled at a place called "Learning Space." I looked over the place, spoke with the director, and decided it was an ok place. David will be in VPK with 9 other children, and the after school kids seem to be of a higher class than the ones at Gabrielle's Glen. Same goes for the people in charge and the teachers/employees. It just seems to be a higher level of personnel and kids. It's small, too, about 30 - 40 kids total for the whole place. I asked one of the children how he liked it there, and he said that he hates it, because they make him drink water and have healthy snacks, instead of cookies. I thought that was pretty funny. It also gave me some confidence that it's a good place. I'll take pictures and send them next
week.

David got to spend the evening Thursday with his cousins. As always, he had fun.

Friday I took him to the Learning Space. Jesse (the one who had kept David on Saturdays, and does occasionally now) works there, and I have faith that she will help keep David in line, and let me know if things aren't right. I'd had issues with Gabrielle's Glen, but Wednesday and Thursday brought to my attention how serious the situation with that place was becoming. I did not make this decision lightly, but I did make it quickly. David clearly had a safety issue that was not being addressed, as I have been asking for information, but it obviously wasn't being very well relayed to me.

So I took him to the school. They want him there at 8 AM to make sure he gets breakfast. I stayed with him for about 30 minutes to make sure he was going to be ok. He was done with me after about 10 minutes. I left with no issues.

At the Learning Space, Ms. Nadine (the director, and owner, I believe) let me know that David has a very clear behavior issue with hitting. She said that it's something she will work on with him, as he was very aggressive, and hit just about every kid in there. This is obviously unacceptable, and I spoke with him about it as well. Ms. Nadine was speculating that with the fighting, it was something that David learned as a way to get along, and to sometimes hit other kids first, so that they wouldn't do it to him. Basically, the environment he was in. I feel good that on the first day the director was giving me honest feedback about his behavior, so I will also be working to reinforce the no-hitting rule at home, though I don't have an issue with it at home. This will be a challenge. She believes that the people who were caregivers at Gabrielle's Glen were too tolerant of the fighting. Rachel told me that she had seen once when she picked up David two boys
wrestling on the ground, and a caregiver's indifference to this behavior. It's good that he's not there anymore. Hopefully this will answer his concern about not wanting to go to school.

I discovered as I was researching the transfer of the VPK that there is no restriction on the size of classes. David being the 10th child in a classroom is another benefit of this move. I'm not sure how many kids were in his old class, but it seemed like a lot.

The biggest drawback to David not going to Gabrielle's Glen is that he will not continue to be in the dancing class. This means that I have to find some other kind of activity for him, or another place for him to dance. I will have to see if Judy Bernard Dancers can still have him dance, but after I'm off work?

Lately David has been sucking on his fingers, no idea why. On the way home from his new school, David told me he wanted pizza. I told him that he'd miss Dinosaur Train (his favorite show) if we went to the store to get pizza. He declined, saying that he'd rather have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.

It's been quite a week. From quiet, to explosion, to major change.

Facebook Update from his mother...

... did not scream, hurt anyone, or even throw someone's phone across the room when they had the hold computer lady on speaker as loud as possible for 2 HOURS. I'm so good!!!!


Now THAT'S will power! ;)
Yesterday at 5:32pm
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You have no idea!!! What a day. Now all I have to do is read the weekly idiotic email and then I can put it all behind me.

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I'm glad she places value on me sending it out...all the above is her...