Choices.

[azurelunatic]

The Little Fayoumis just got a choice.

He managed, in the attempt to be watching a movie, to knock over one of the Playstation controllers, which is never a good idea. I asked him how it happened. He didn't know. I told him that since he had knocked it over, he would not be able to watch a movie right away, but he would be allowed to watch a movie an hour from now, after 3:30

I heard the beginnings of a Big Noisy Fuss. I told him that he had a choice: either he could accept watching a movie later, and watch a movie after 3:30, or he could make a Big Noisy Fuss about it and get grounded from movies today.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Perhaps. But for this, his hands should not even have been near the gaming console, and one of the things that we are trying to get through to him is being careful with stuff. He has not historically been particularly careful with the PS2. Once he's in that habit, we can ease off. Until then, he will get in minor trouble for knocking the controllers off the shelf, until we're sure that it's unpreventable accident each time, versus accidents that could have been prevented if he'd been more careful.

It's amazing how quickly soda and milk stopped being spilled when they were replaced with not more soda but water, each time.

Delaying movie time an hour is not a big punishment. Grounding him completely from movie time for knocking over a controller would have been extreme. Grounding him from movie time for a Big Noisy Fuss... hehe. You have kids?