Disciplining your own child is tough. In fact, I hate it. But somebody has got to do it, right? So what am I driving at?
Well, you see, my son Kyle is at a stage where he is very outspoken and also very responsive to situations around him. Kids nowadays are so different from my time, where whenever my daddy scolds me, we tremble in fear and dare not protest or move an inch.
When I scold my son, he reacts by pouting and frowning and of course protesting. Quick to blame others, such as his sister for an act so obviously done by him. He will eventually break down and cry after I shout at him, but his reaction after calming down is worse. He says things like I don’t like mama, you always scold and beat me, you are not pretty, I don’t want you anymore, I only like ayah etc.
It breaks my heart to a million pieces hearing that, but still such things need to be set straight. Kyle can be very rough and pushy to the point of injuring the other kids…the signs of a bully. Thus I have to constantly remind him to stop until I lose my limit and I shout and out comes the rotan. The other adults, even my husband does not do anything and I feel that it is my duty as a mother to correct his behavior.
I hate it when other adults scold him. Just feeling like tearing their faces when they scold my child. Would they like it if I scold their babies? Thus the need for me to discipline my kid before others take the opportunity to do so.
But at the age of 5, he does not see my point of view and when I scold him, I turn into this big bad wolf whom he does not want to get near to. After he says all those stuff to me, I just kept quiet and hug his sister, who hugs me back and says that mama is her favourite. I tell her that I love her and start discussing on where should our next family holiday be and the fun things we could do while we are there.
Kyle, eavesdropping on our conversation while watching TV, starts to move nearer and nearer to me till he sits on my lap. I teased him, saying I thought you do not love me? He starts crying…and I start to cry. We hugged each other and I kissed him all over his face, wiping his tears away.
That’s the end of one ugly episode, and I believe there will be more as he grows older and nearer to the angst teenage years…sigh…
