Ravi's Apology

Well, there are times in life where we must have our children apologize for something they have done.

We were at Taco Bell 10 days back, and I told Ravi to sit on the chair to have a break from playing. He was teasing his sister, and blocking her from playing.

He didn't want to sit down. So I told him to get his shoes on to leave the play room.
He got them on, and immediately kicked the glass door leading to the play room. We also left immediately.

I have been thinking about this for the last 10 days, about what I should do as a punishment. Everything I had thought of right away seems too punitive. So I didn't do anything. No good I know, but finally, I have the right idea.

First, I had him write a letter of apology to the manager:

Dear Manager,

I was in your store recently and played in your playroom. I became angry and kicked the glass door of the playroom.

I am sincerely sorry and this letter is written to apoligize to you and to ask your forgiveness.
I will not do this again, and you have my word of honor.

Hopefully, after some time, you will forgive me and allow me to come back again to eat and play at your store.

With apology,
Ravi

Next, I contacted several nursing homes in our area, and they would LOVE to have Ravi come and read to them, visit, play a game of checkers and such. He has never been to a nursing home before, so surely it will be a bit of a shock, but when the shock wears off, I am sure he will love doing this, as much as I wanted him to do it.

I felt that his punishment should involve something where it points out very clearly that he is no longer the center of the universe, something that most 5 - 6 year olds have already figured out. There are people in the world that need help, and with all his energy, he can help them.

So, he will start volunteering (lol...mom'unteering) every day after school for 2 hours until he has finished his 25 hours. I think he will not want to stop at that point, so we will see.

Samantha's Journal

Samantha is a native American friend of mine who is in India right now. She is living with a host family in Jaipur, and doing a study programme.

I really fine her writing interesting. Please check out her site and revisit for updates:

Samantha's Journal

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