Behaving Correctly.

Once again it has been a good weekend and I write this as I watch the Oscars. It looks like Slumdog Millionaire is going home with lots of Oscars. They have won two already! This is a film I enjoyed watching but do not want my children to watch. Not only is there violence in the film, it also portrays a very dark side of India. Sure, a very small part of India is shown in true light but MOST of India, even though it's poor, is a very beautiful country. I don't want to put them off going there in the future!

We always try to shield our children form harm and bad influences and hope we are doing enough for them. I know I try very hard to limit what they watch on TV and what kind of games they play. Then why is Rits in trouble at school? His teacher has said that his behavior with other children is not good. When he came home on Friday, I sat him down and asked what he has been doing.

His eyes are the first thing to give him away! He knew what I was talking about and told me that he says bad things to his friend like "looser". I was shocked to hear him say that because I though I knew my son better. How do I deal with this?
Firstly, I proceeded to tell him about the rights and wrongs of how to speak to people and refrain form using bad language. We are not a family who like to use foul language so I needed to look into this further.

He is also grounded for a week with all his "fun" things taken away. He can not watch any TV or play with his DS or Wii. I may give him limited TV time after a week but I think the other things will have to earned back slowly.
Now I need to look into the why part of his behavior. After talking to a few people I think we have it narrowed down.

Rits is the youngest in our family...I don't mean just my little foursome, I mean our extended family and friends. He is around older people and children all the time, many of whom are teenagers. We think he has picked up a little here and there and thinks it's "cool" to relay what he over hears to his friends.

For the time being, we have put a stop to his behavior issues and need to be more vigilant when we have our usual get together. I'll keep you posted with any progress or the lack of!

p.s. He is fully recovered from his sore throat and thanks to everyone who asked about him.