Samantha's new aide, M., speaks barely a lick of English. And while that can certainly pose some problems (trust me, it does), it should have absolutely. no. bearing. on common sense when it comes to caring for a child.
Unless that child happens to be Samantha.
My girl has this uncanny way of bending people to her will, exercising her right to use Jedi mind tricks on those unwary, unsuspecting Suckers (yes, with a capital S). Mommy is occasionally on the receiving end. Currently it's M. And man, she's got it bad.
Now, tell me, in a world of logic and common sense, WHEN is it OKAY to let a child draw all over their arms and clothes with magic marker? Can you answer that? Huh?
Right. Didn't think so.
When questioned about it, M. (through signs and gestures and those few words of English that she does know) explained that Samantha started doing it, then began to cry when M. tried to stop her, so she stopped trying. Really? That's all it took? She seriously just sat back and watched as Samantha created her latest masterpiece in red, all. over. her. jeans.
Today I'm feeling very grateful for washable markers.
What if that had been the couch?
Let's just say Samantha got a stern talking-to when Daddy got home...
I did a check-for-understanding when I came home lastnight: "Samantha, where do you use markers?" "On paper, mommy." Good.
And this hasn't been the only incident, either. Apparently, little Miss Manipulative has been telling M. that she'll go use the potty if she can have a cookie.
Ohhhhhh, some things are just soooooo not negotiable. Nice try, kiddo. We're on to you now...
16 comments:
Cracking up at the cookie routine. Thankful for washable markers too. Oh my!
Oh, my goodness! If we all gave in to every episode of tears...
I'll bet my mortgage that M comes from the same ethnicity as several parents of kids with DS that I know. "Well, they have DS. They can't learn. So why teach them?" Doesn't happen all the time but as the listening ear to many frustrated social workers and teachers, it happens often. Sigh...
Ashley once had an aide who let her do as she wished due to her wonderous ways of manipulating. She painted the lenses of her glasses black and said "Me go night-night"...I was not quite as amused when she got home but I did have to chuckle!
One more thing...I would just caveat that I do have the same negative experiences with American born parents too. Just not as many...
That made me smile today. Kids can be so sneaky :-) Hopefully M is catching on.
Wow, really surprised she would let her color on her pants. Really? If I let my kids do the things they wanted due to tears, I would be going bonkers. :-)
Aiden doesn't cry, he just flat out refuses to do something if he doesn't want to do it.
To Stephanie's point, usually Samantha just refuses, too, crossing her arms and saying (very emphatically), "No!"
However, I think she has recently begun whining more, probably because she's seeing that it is working with M. I am not sure if there are actual tears involved, but if there are, I'll say straight-out that she must be part crocodile...
Lilly and Sammi are identical twins, I think, in their behaviour! Sometimes I truly believe that Lilly is the smartest person I know; the most manipulative; will be voted most likely to go into politics or be a lawyer. :)
By the way, what kind of jeans is Sammi wearing? I can never find ones that fit Lilly well, because of her little belly and her short(ish) legs! Sometimes I buy capri jeans in a larger size to accommodate, but they still never seem comfortable on her...
Know what she sounds like to me? Any other 5yr old! They have learned to manipulate darling and it sucks!
I hope she isn't giving Sammie special treatment bc she has DS. I had a doctor say the other day about Es.."well that is typcial of kids with T21..". I don't care!
Is it wrong I find this post frustrating (towards M) more then funny?? :P -erin
Oh gosh, I wish all the commenters, you, and I could get in a chat room together.Heather: please come find my blog and you will be smiling. THIS IS WHY LIL G WAS SO DELAYED!!!! Cathleen: I bought little G 3 pr capris in 5T and thought Id hit a goldmine in Jeans at old navy that fit her- only to find out they were capris!(learned your trick on accident) heads up Lands End has husky 4T and husky 5T w/ button tab. I got them end of season for $4-$5 ea. Otherwise its dresses and leggings. Just cant find jeans that are just right when you are 50% in height and 95% in weight on the growth charts.(sorry for all the rambling, guess I didnt get my words in today!)
if you need some spanish words so can M can understand why what she do affects to Sammi let me know ok ? :)
Elias' gret grandparent tend to let Elias do a lot of things he cant do when Im in the same room, or they tend to tell me its just a kid, let him do whatever he is doing. we know one time is enough for changing a good behavior. we had to stop almost daily visit to great grandparents because Elias was having major tantrums there! Eventually Elias understood!
Oh my - my nieces try that stuff with me. Yes, the ones that I lived with for four months - they try to convince me that they only do "this" for "that" as a reward. My favorite was that they only clean their toys up if they got cookies.
Maybe cookies are the issue, not our dear, precious little ones? :)
I can see Claire pulling stuff like this when she gets older, LOL. Already, if you tell her no, she folds herself in half and fake cries. Ah kids!
Yikes! Glad it's washable marker is right, otherwise she would have some pretty artsy jeans to wear. hehehe. I find it interesting that you have so much trouble finding a good aide...and that the aides you find don't speak english. Here we gave respite (basically a babysitter provided by the state)...often they are young ladies who are going to college and need the money. But most of them are really very sweet and love kids with special needs. It is hard to find someone to stick around tho. Anyway I hope it all works out for you and M...and Sammi. =)
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