Yellow

Kindergartners come home with a color coded behavior report each day.  Colors range from red (absolute worst day ever, A.K.A you did something REALLY bad) to purple (best day ever).  We’ve been lucky that Teddy seems to stay solidly in green territory.  At the beginning of the New Year he posed a challenge to us that if he gets a purple (“PUPle”) he gets breakfast for dinner.  Not only did he rise to the occasion, we’ve had to put a moratorium on breakfast for dinner because the rest of us are sick of making pancakes.

But everyone has their days once in a while. At least I can say Teddy is always completely honest when a day does not go exactly how he would have hoped. On Wednesday of last week, I pulled in the driveway and was met by a six year old who declared, before I was even out of the car: “Mommy, I accidently got a yellow today.”  Accidentally?  How does one accidentally get a yellow I asked?  “I was playing when I wasn’t supposed to be.”  Well, that would explain it.  The report actually said he was talking when he wasn't supposed to be but we won’t dwell on the details.

In addition to laying out the breakfast for dinner challenge, Mr. T was so sure of himself that he had previously laid out punishments on the unlikely event that he got anything but a green or purple: Yellow = no TV, no computer for the evening; Orange = no TV, no computer, and no playing outside with friends; Red = no anything, he would just have to up to his room and SIT there for the evening. Ok, then.  Seeing, as he had already done the work for me, I asked him to remind me what a yellow infraction means.  “No TV”.  I told him that I thought it was TV and computer but no, he was sure it was just TV.  I let it slide and he happily had some computer time that night.  I knew it would catch up to him.

Most nights after a bath and pjs, the kids like to climb into our bed and watch a bit of TV to wind down before bedtime.  So imagine Mr. T’s surprise when his freshly washed bod climbed under the soft sheets and he grabbed the remote only to hear me say “Nope! Not tonight.”  Doh!  Realizing his blunder he tried to backtrack a bit.  “Oh, did I say TV?  I meant computer.”  I didn’t let that one slide.  And since he had already had his computer time for the evening, the kid was stuck.  You could see the gears in his brain working as he realized the error of his ways.  Outsmarted.

With not much to do (because obviously at this point he was SO BORED and there was NOTHING TO DO) he colored for a bit but then headed off to bed in defeat.  Much to his ire, he heard his sister happily turn on the TV…which prompted a last ditch try at the “fairness” card: “It’s not fair, how come Katherine gets to watch TV????”  “Because Katherine didn’t get a yellow today.” Doh!  

Live to fight another day bud,  We've got you on this one.