Yesterday, I solved a puzzle. We were at occupational therapy, and when Riley couldn't complete a jumping sequence that was requested of her, she cowered and said to the therapist, "Don't yell at me."
It's embarrassing when she does this. We don't yell at her. We are very careful to approach Riley in a calm way. She has been spanked twice in her life, and that was when she was two, and I was exasperated, and didn't know what was going on with her yet.
Finally, last night, I got it out of her.
"Why do you think someone is going to yell at you?"
"Well,when H. (the teenage baby-sitter) watched us over the summer, she said her piano teacher yelled at her whenever she made mistakes. She said she finally had to quit because the piano teacher yelled at her so much. I'm afraid if I make mistakes, the teachers will yell at me."
Mistakes = possibility of being yelled at by teachers.
Thrilled that I had gotten to the bottom of this excavation, I e-mailed Riley's teacher with the news, asking her to promise Riley she would not yell at her if she made mistakes. Having figured this out, I felt good about myself.
Wonderful Teacher e-mailed back, happy with the discovery, but then proceeded to burst my bubble with this:
Riley also says, "Don't hurt me," and "Don't throw me in the oven."
Seems I've a bit more digging to do. Did we get hold of a copy of Hansel & Gretel perhaps?
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12 comments:
Maybe I should not be laughing a little, but that is kinda funny. Sorry! I can only imagine what it is going to be about! lol!
:)
Okay, here's the deal. Riley cracked up when I asked her about the "oven."
"Not *oven* Mommy, it's don't put me in the *office.*
Well that makes more sense.
Don't "hurt" me just meant, don't "yell" at me.
Never a dull moment around here.
Blimey! Isn't that always the way, well for me at least. Delighted that I have finally unearthed some mystifying nugget only to be buried in additional accidental 'finds.'
Sometimes I have to wait months to unravel something or other and more often than not it's the same thing all over again, another two or three little mines to de-fuse.
Best wishes
Glad you got to the bottom of this and very glad to hear it wasnt the oven!!
Good grief! This is funny but...yikes!
I remember my first son's kindergarten teacher telling the parents at back-to-school night, "If you don't believe everything you hear about me, I promise not to believe everything I hear about you." I think (and pray) that most teachers know that sometimes kids' comments really come completely out of left field.
Great story.
Is she reading "Night" by Elie Wiesel? (One of the most powerful books ever written about the Holocaust.) It's amazing what sticks in our kids heads and how they can perceive things - so literal. Gianna STILL says, "No bump the bus!" from what MAY have been a small bus accident more than 4 years ago. At least the teacher knows she's voicing fears and not things that have happened. It's always something.
Maybe she said, "Don't put me in the office," but I'll bet she doesn't want to be put in the oven, either.
*sigh* *snort* *sigh*
You just don't know whether to laugh or cry some days, do you?
When Evan was in high school, one of his teachers showed up at an IEP meeting, ready to turn me in to Social Services. He had told her he slept in class because I wouldn't let him live at home any more, and he had to crash wherever he could find a sheltered place, including dumpsters if nothing better presented itself.
Thank God, the counselor knew me (we met every Thursday am for 2 years), and knew Evan well enough to assure the teacher he was being well cared for. At home.
Never will forget when the teacher asked "Where does your son live?"
Oven/office? Have fun cracking that one!
I love that Riley has a sense of humor about this, too. At least you two can laugh together.
office/oven - closely related forms of torture for our kids:) Thank God for understanding teachers!
Oh my! Out of the mouths of babes!! Sorry Michelle but that cracked me up ... its just so gorgeous ... imagining a little gingerbread Riley now!
mich
x.
Oh yeah. We've had a lot of this. I'm sure Riley reads a lot, too? Miss M is the Mistress of Hyperbole.
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