Kid Amnesiac

So this is funny. Simon got a time-out at school yesterday. I suppose I shouldn’t be laughing about that, but the situation was so funny that even his teacher, Ms. Jill, was laughing a bit as she told me. She also suggested that I not discuss the time out with Simon, as she didn’t want to further distress him over something that was, in her words, “just not a big deal.”

So did he hit a child? Grab a toy? Refuse to share? ANY of the expected illegal behavior? Nope. His crime was that he would not leave his friend Gabrielle alone at circle time. They sit next to each other, and during circle time Simon was more interested in her than the stories and songs. So he poked her. High fived her. Tickled her. Went to rub her back. Touched her hair. And then, despite repeated warnings to leave poor Gabrielle alone, he leaned in and tried to lick her.

I hope he straightens this out before dating. Also, I totally blame Matt for this, because the poking and licking sounds a lot like his  silly way of wrestling with Simon. It never ocurred to either one of us to say, “Now honey, remember you can only grab, poke, and lick family, OK?”

After Simon spent his one-minute in the time-out chair, he was asked to apologize to Gabrielle. Simon is not a great apologizer and was upset about the time out, so he refused. That earned him another minute, this time with his chair turned around so he could not see the other children. That really upset him, and after his minute was up he readily apologized to Gabrielle and took his seat next to her.

Ms. Jill was pleased to see that Simon was upset by time out, as that makes classroom discipline much easier. I could have told her that. For that matter, even a slightly raised voice or unfriendly look often does the trick. The kid just does not like it when people are angry with him. Which makes the lack of apologizing even odder. I can only chalk it up to stubbornness.

Regardless, Matt and I both got a chuckle out of the fact that two months into the school year Simon got his first time out not for the expected toddler aggression, but instead for not recognizing boundaries in his admiration for Gabrielle.

He’s a lover, not a fighter.