Friday Night

I have had a brother/sister duo in my daycare for eighteen months and they have been a handful. The boy in particular, has given me a run for my patience, happiness, and at times love. This five year old has put his hands around other children's necks, hidden toys, taken our toys home, and has zero manners. He is a very sad child whose parents are divorced and hate one another. He gets in trouble at school and mom and dad have been called to pick him up because of his destructive behavior. This boy was also kicked out of preschool at the tender age of four for hitting and choking other children. (I did not learn this fact until recently).

This family- the mom in particular-just moved out of her parent's home and is now in an apartment in Folsom. I will continue to care for these children until the end of May then they will transfer to the Folsom School District. I wonder how this little boy will do in his new daycare and school. Did I mention the three year old little girl still gets bottles of milk and is no where close to being potty trained? Who gives their child a glass bottle at the age of three? Her mom says she can't stand it when her daughter cries and cries for "bows"- pronounced like when you take a bow at the end of a performance. The three year isn't corrected when she says something wrong and it drives me crazy!

This past Friday night I was talking to the mom and told her of the rough day I had with her son. I gave her at least three examples of things he had done or said to hurt the other children and her eyes welled up. She had nothing to say----no, "I'm sorry for your rough day" or, "I'll talk to him tonight so we can work on his behavior" or "What can I do to help you with this?" Nadda. Zilch. Nothing. No words came out of her mouth. She just turned and gathered up all her children's things and walked out the door. I was stunned.

A few minutes went by so I decided to send her a little note to her phone---we communicate like this frequently. My note said, "I'm sorry I dropped so much on your lap today. I rarely tell you when I have a rough day. Next week will be better. Take Care"

Wanna know what her response was?

She said, "I feel like you hate my son and that's unfortunate. You only have two more weeks with him then you never have to see his face again."

I darn near threw up!

Really? This thirty-one year old woman just said that to me? I understand parents don't like to hear that their child has been disrespectful, naughty, or unkind, but I felt she needed to know about our rough day...How would she know otherwise?

I let a couple of hours go by before I responded to her. All I said was, "I do not hate your son. I'm sorry you interpreted it that way when we were talking tonight." She has not responded to that- which maybe shows a sign that she is a wee bit mature after all.... HA!

Well, Monday is right around the corner and I have to put on my happy face with her and her ex husband for two weeks. Fun, right? GOOD GRIEF! I will take the high road, bite my tongue, and grin and bear it. If her child acts up again- which he does every single day- I will pick and chose what I say to her- if I chose to say anything at all. This family will be out of my life in two weeks then this will all be a distant memory.