the parent-teacher conference

Yesterday Jim and I had about 15 dedicated minutes to sit down and talk with Spencer's teacher. And it seems that we have two different Spencers to deal with. At school, Spencer is very attentive and well behaved (albeit a bit loud, she did add) but still struggles with potty training. At home, Spencer has even started using the potty without feeling compelled to tell us, but has been misbehaving a lot, and even announces "doing naughty things makes me happy." Hmm. At the end of the meeting we determined that more of a reward system needs to be put in place for both potty and good behavior. And, possibly some of the acting up at home may be due to boredom, so we need to figure out how to keep him more challenged. Sure, it all makes sense...

But later that night I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I am Spencer's constant buddy, and recently the additional trips he's been taking to time out might have more to do with me than him. It just made me want to cry. More challenges? More challenges? I feel like I am constantly keeping him engaged. (Heck, I'm exhausted most of the time!) Maybe our playtime activties need to be updated. As for the bad behavior, Jim and I immediately put suggestions into actions this evening, and had some successes. It all makes sense in our heads, but it is also easy to not see when we are sending inconsistent messages. Parenting is tough work.