The Authority

This morning Đán ran to me and cried, “Daddy, Đạo scratched me and pushed me.” Then he turned authoritative and ordered me, “Hit him.” I couldn’t help smiling, but told him that we don’t hit each other. We have to be nice to each other.

The weather is turning nice; therefore, Đán is allowed to play at the playground each morning. He hasn’t been crying for the past few days when I dropped him off. He’s eager to see his favorite teacher, Ms. Ali.

Đạo got in trouble again yesterday. His teacher complained that he didn’t want to share with his friend. They both fought over a car. His teacher told him to play with another car that is exactly the same, but he just wanted that particular car he was fighting for. When I asked him what happened and he told me that he had the car first.

At home he does the same thing with Đán. He wants whatever Đán has on his hand. It drives me crazy because they have tons of toys, but he only wanted that particular toy at the moment. I gave him timeout and explained to him that is not OK to do that, but it just goes in one ear and out the other.