Time Out...

Lately, when Elliot is staying with me, we have tried really hard to teach him that name calling is mean. Every time he says something that sounds like an insult, we give him a warning, and then if he says it again, we put him in "Time Out".  One of those words is the word "stupid". It doesn't always mean an insult to a person indirectly, but does give off a negative tone.

Anyway, so tonight after play practice, which Elliot went with me to,  we were taking a friend of mine home, and our friend said the word "stupid", so Elliot thought it was up to him to make things right, so Elliot gave our friend a "Time Out" lecture.

Then, I said the word "stupid" talking about something else. So, you guest it. Elliot put me in "Time Out" when we got home. I got him ready for bed, turned on a movie for us to watch together, and then he told me I still had to do my "Time Out" session. So, I got three minutes in the corner of our family room while Elliot watched The Aquabats Super Show.

I have noticed that being a parent can be very tricky sometimes. You don't want to hold your kids to a double standard, and sometimes it is hard to not do what they aren't allowed to do for some things. The funny thing is, is I was actually really proud of Elliot for standing up and telling us off like that. I hope that when he is older, especially his teenage years, that he will be able to stand up to his peers and do what is right and invite them to do the right thing as well.

It makes me happy that even though I am the dad, my son, even at age three, can still teach me great lessons!