My Message Is Not Getting Through
Sometimes I get upset with the kids for things they do. Because it really doesn't happen very often, they often don't react immediately. In my parental myopic belief that my kids are basically good and not manipulative, my opinion is that I don't think they immediately recognize when I'm being serious.
Today Sara was working on a project coloring with felt-tip markers on the floor. Our floor is wood. I was not in the room watching.
Later I returned to the room to find markings on the floor. The hair started to stand up on my neck as neatness (actually lack of neatness) with markers has in the past been a source of disciplinary action. So when I saw markings on the floor I thought that "bad daddy" would need to make an appearance.
Me: "Sara! There are green markings on the floor. What did we tell you about using markers?"
Sara: "That's not green Daddy, it's blue."