Normally, I would try to get him to do something else at some point during the day. But this was more than just hyperfocusing. This was perseverance at its best. He built the entire model completely on his own, with encouragement from Steve and me - and a few snack breaks. The only time he asked for help was when he couldn't find a piece he was looking for. The kid was exhausted when he finished, but the sense of accomplishment he felt was so worth it. Naturally, it immediately became leader of the Dream Police.
It wasn't until he was about to take a bath that he realized he had not played on the computer the entire day. That fact would not have been apparent to him had Ainsley not loaded one of her Dora the Explorer video games. Then it became an issue.
Until yesterday, we NEVER let the kids play on the computer just before bedtime, and they knew it. The exception was made because of our new potty training reward system for Ainsley. She has been getting extremely lazy about using the toilet. Quite frankly, I'm tired of cleaning up messes, and she refuses to help. I don't want to get cruel, and I certainly don't want to make this a big negative issue for her. So, Ainsley now gets to earn her computer time with her potty successes. Ten minutes on the computer each time she has a successful trip to the potty by herself. So far, it is working much better than marshmallows and M&M's ever did. I'd rather bend the computer time rule slightly than have her go to bed thinking our reward system is a load of you-know-what.
The difficult part was explaining to Ian why she had earned her computer time. "Well, I went potty today, too!" was his argument. Great! Now we have started a peeing competition between the kids so they can play on the computer. It will probably escalate to an all-out war. What the hell...if it keeps my carpets clean, let the battle begin!
2 comments:
The Lego Exoforce is impressive!! I am still searching for the magic toy, model,activity that leaves Littleman riveted and engaged. (She says selfishly.) When does school start????????????? Littleman is bored and I am burnt.
As for the War of the pees- why not?? You never know what will trigger a competition among siblings.
Hi there, my name is Tina. I have a little guy who is Autistic too. He is 5 years old:) Your son is beautiful and that is one cool Lego he built!
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