We were talking to Toren last night while eating dinner about his daycare. One of his friends, Bobby, had gotten in trouble during the day. I asked him what happens to the kids when they get in trouble. He told me that Bobby had to sit by himself while the teacher read a book to the other kids. Then, when they went outside, Bobby had to stay on the chair for a little while, then he was “free” and could play again.
Toren’s current teachers seem a bit too punitive in their approach to us, but it’s not abusive, so we’ve let it go. Even so, I then wondered if Toren ever gets in trouble, so I asked him, “Do you ever get in trouble at daycare?”
He looked at me sheepishly for a few seconds then said, “Sometimes.”
I followed up with, “And what do you have to do when you get in trouble at daycare?”
To which Toren, putting his hands together to show us, responded, “Play with your fingers.”
Debi and I burst out laughing.
He obviously is supposed to sit by himself and not do anything, which is the punishment. But Toren has figured out that, rather than sit and do nothing, you can play with your fingers. Brilliant!
As I literally couldn’t stop laughing for about a minute, I missed what Toren said next, but Debi heard it, “Then, when you get free, you can ride the bikes.”
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