I don't really know where to go with this. I have really just been trying to ignore SD8 and all her BS for the last couple of weeks. It's SUPER hard. I don't really ignore it, I know its happening, I just don't say anything anymore. But here's the story: SD8's TV came unplugged. How? I don't know but I now have my theories. Last night DH was working and SD8 asked me if I could plug it back in. I went to her bedroom and pulled out her dresser to do so. Her dresser is kinda on an angle backed up to a corner. Behind her dresser I find: Clean folded clothes, broken DVDs, and the missing, now broken, PS3 remote. The fact that she has apparently been stashing her clean clothes behind her dresser to avoid putting them away kind of explains how the TV probably came unplugged. Anyway, what bothers me most is the broken remote. In the last two years SD8 has broken her iPod, 2 Nintendo DS, the tablet charger, BS9's DS charger, a Wii, pulled all the keys off the computer keyboard, knocked the monitor off the desk, and now the remote. At first she said she didn't know what happened. I didn't say anything. I just plugged in the TV and sat the remote on the dining room table. Then she starts going off about "am I going to tell Dad?" Now she says the remote fell off her dresser. This remote was missing buttons and pretty much destroyed, like somebody had beat the thing with a bat. I don't know what happened. I haven't said anything and DH hasn't been around yet.
All I'm thinking is don't you think it's about time we stop giving her access to these things? She obviously has no respect for anything. She can't brush her hair without being told 50x. Why on Earth would we expect her to actually take care of an object?
I'm just pissed. I already know how this is going to go down. DH will come home flip out. SD8 will probably be grounded for a couple hours. Then life will go on. To me it just seems like these things keep happening. It's not like it happened once. It happens all the time. Shouldn't she have to actually step up and face the fact that if she can't freaking take care of things she doesn't get to use them. Or am I just crazy?
DH doesn't let her get away with murder, but sometimes I think, he just resorts to a couple hours grounded for everything. Every time she f*cks up, she gets grounded. Obviously that doesn't do anything to make her take care of things. She doesn't get to use them for a couple hours that's it. I think she should loose them until she is more responsible. I realize she is 8, but she has the maturity of a 3 year old. She shouldn't be allowed to use them. She cannot take care of them. She shows no respect for things.
I was thinking the same thing -- your list of things she has destroyed equals a pretty penny.
If there are no other kids -- just don't replace the things she breaks.
If there ARE other kids, then it gets a little more difficult but you have to stand firm that she is NOT ALLOWED to touch those things because obviously she cannot treat them with respect. it's not fair to the other children to go without these things just because SD breaks them.
We dealt not with things being broken but things being taken. My SK's set up a 'secret password' on OUR PS3 (SK's are only here on weekends) and wouldn't tell anyone else what it was so my kids couldn't play it during the week. They took remotes. They took memory cards. They took cables. It was never ending and my DH would just say they "borrowed" stuff and they'd surely bring it back (never did) -- but at the expense of MY KIDS? Oh hell no. So I put the PS3 in my son's room (with the agreement between my son and daughter) and when they were done playing it would all get boxed up and put under my bed. If the SK's made a move to take something while they were here, my DS or DD would let me/DH know and it would be addressed.
Totally understand the frustration factor!! Why cannot skids be responsible enough to keep the things they cannot live without in good working order???
Being grounded for 2 hours is ridiculous! DH should step up and make the serious impression for the serious infraction.
Comments
I don't really know where to
I don't really know where to go with this. I have really just been trying to ignore SD8 and all her BS for the last couple of weeks. It's SUPER hard. I don't really ignore it, I know its happening, I just don't say anything anymore. But here's the story: SD8's TV came unplugged. How? I don't know but I now have my theories. Last night DH was working and SD8 asked me if I could plug it back in. I went to her bedroom and pulled out her dresser to do so. Her dresser is kinda on an angle backed up to a corner. Behind her dresser I find: Clean folded clothes, broken DVDs, and the missing, now broken, PS3 remote. The fact that she has apparently been stashing her clean clothes behind her dresser to avoid putting them away kind of explains how the TV probably came unplugged. Anyway, what bothers me most is the broken remote. In the last two years SD8 has broken her iPod, 2 Nintendo DS, the tablet charger, BS9's DS charger, a Wii, pulled all the keys off the computer keyboard, knocked the monitor off the desk, and now the remote. At first she said she didn't know what happened. I didn't say anything. I just plugged in the TV and sat the remote on the dining room table. Then she starts going off about "am I going to tell Dad?" Now she says the remote fell off her dresser. This remote was missing buttons and pretty much destroyed, like somebody had beat the thing with a bat. I don't know what happened. I haven't said anything and DH hasn't been around yet.
All I'm thinking is don't you think it's about time we stop giving her access to these things? She obviously has no respect for anything. She can't brush her hair without being told 50x. Why on Earth would we expect her to actually take care of an object?
I'm just pissed. I already know how this is going to go down. DH will come home flip out. SD8 will probably be grounded for a couple hours. Then life will go on. To me it just seems like these things keep happening. It's not like it happened once. It happens all the time. Shouldn't she have to actually step up and face the fact that if she can't freaking take care of things she doesn't get to use them. Or am I just crazy?
DH doesn't let her get away with murder, but sometimes I think, he just resorts to a couple hours grounded for everything. Every time she f*cks up, she gets grounded. Obviously that doesn't do anything to make her take care of things. She doesn't get to use them for a couple hours that's it. I think she should loose them until she is more responsible. I realize she is 8, but she has the maturity of a 3 year old. She shouldn't be allowed to use them. She cannot take care of them. She shows no respect for things.
I was thinking the same thing
I was thinking the same thing -- your list of things she has destroyed equals a pretty penny.
If there are no other kids -- just don't replace the things she breaks.
If there ARE other kids, then it gets a little more difficult but you have to stand firm that she is NOT ALLOWED to touch those things because obviously she cannot treat them with respect. it's not fair to the other children to go without these things just because SD breaks them.
We dealt not with things being broken but things being taken. My SK's set up a 'secret password' on OUR PS3 (SK's are only here on weekends) and wouldn't tell anyone else what it was so my kids couldn't play it during the week. They took remotes. They took memory cards. They took cables. It was never ending and my DH would just say they "borrowed" stuff and they'd surely bring it back (never did) -- but at the expense of MY KIDS? Oh hell no. So I put the PS3 in my son's room (with the agreement between my son and daughter) and when they were done playing it would all get boxed up and put under my bed. If the SK's made a move to take something while they were here, my DS or DD would let me/DH know and it would be addressed.
Totally understand the
Totally understand the frustration factor!! Why cannot skids be responsible enough to keep the things they cannot live without in good working order???
Being grounded for 2 hours is ridiculous! DH should step up and make the serious impression for the serious infraction.