Crossing the Line
There's a certain point when a child (or a grownup, for that matter) who has done something wrong realizes that he's not just in trouble, he's really in trouble.
Yesterday, our older son Scooter (who is four and a half) was playing quietly downstairs while She Who Puts Up With Me was napping, and I was reading. The twins, Skeeter and Scamper, were also napping. A calm, restful time in the DFN household. Too quiet, as they say in bad detective movies.
Then She Who Puts Up With Me went downstairs.
"Oh! My! God!" Her voice was at least two octaves higher than normal. "You clean this up RIGHT NOW!"
"What happened?" I called down. At moments like this, my dialogue tends to the cliche, and it seemed like a good time for some exposition.
"It looks like a tornado hit," she said, "Scooter completely trashed the dining room, there's art supplies everywhere, and that book of Egyptian stencils is ruined."
I went downstair to see for myself. It wasn't nearly so bad as She Who Puts Up With Me seemed to think. Yes, there were art supplies strewn on the floor, and yes, a few of the stencils in the stencil book had been torn. Then I saw it.
Bright blue paint on the cream carpet. Scooter had been making a painting, and he had been using the floor as a desk. You could see exactly where the edges of the paper had been by the lines of paint in the carpet.
During this time, Scooter had been acting as he often does when he's in trouble, offering semi-sincere apologies and watching the commotion as his mother got herself worked into a fury.
You have to understand, we have a philosophy in our home, based on the fact that certain compromises have to be made with three kids under the age of 5. Certain items, like the furniture in the TV room, are disposable. They were in bad shape before we had kids, and we simply plan to replace them once the children reach a responsible age. The dining room carpet is disposable, and already had numerous stains.
There was a principle involved, however. When Working With Art Supplies, Be Careful To Keep The Mess Contained.
"Let me handle this," I told She Who Puts Up With Me. We know from experience that Scooter likes pushing her buttons, and her anger, magnificent as it was, wasn't likely to teach Scooter the right lessons.
I calmly took a deep breath, then bellowed like a drill sergeant: "Scooter! Get right in here this instant and clean up this mess! Do you understand how much trouble you're in? After you're done cleaning up, you will apologize to your mother, and it better be good, kiddo, because she will decide how long you will spend in your room!"
It was at that instant that Scooter realized that he wasn't just in trouble, he was really in trouble.
His expression completely changed, from the half-smirk of his insincere apologies, to a wide-eyed surprise, to abject misery and tears.
The next apology was sincere. He explained to She Who Puts Up With Me how sorry he was for not being more careful with the art supplies, and tearfully promised not to do it again. He even tried to wipe the paint from the carpet. Of course, even though this was "washable" kids' paint, it was too deep into the pile of the carpet to come out, but the effort was a good one.
This is a mistake Scooter won't be making again in the near future. And, in case he forgets, there's a bright blue reminder every time he goes in the dining room, at least for the next few years.