Did I invent algebra?

I came home and agreed to help Salinda with her math. By the way that she glared and huffed, you’d think I had invented Algebra. I am about ready to tell her to get herself a tutor.

The comment was made today that I need to go on strike if kids aren’t being appropriate. Well, I did that with Mike (as you will know if you keep up with the blog ... I call them Holiday Inn Conversations).

Tonight, after “trying to do what he was supposed to do” for 3 days, he expects all privileges back even though I told him 10 days ago he had to go two weeks. He got so angry he punched a hole in a door that we think is probably custom made and will cost a lot of money to be replaced. He threatened Bart and swore at him.

Making kids accept the natural consequences of their actions is great in theory, but when they are mentally ill it really leads to a LOT of punishment for us. We’re in the midst of trying to do it with Mike and Salinda and it is leading to MAJOR nastiness.

Salinda couldn’t pay her phone bill, so she got it taken away. I gave her a month, which was over on October 31, to pay the bill. Now she is not getting it back period. She is heavily in debt and has no money.

Mike has worn out his welcome with all of his new friends. I told him that never paying for anything and asking everyone to chauffeur him all over town was not going to work for long. Apparently, all of his sources have dried up and now he is stuck here and I won’t give him rides either. It’s too cold for him to walk, he lost his coat, and I’m not buying him clothes until he shows for two weeks that he’s willing to abide by a very few house policies.

Now, before I start getting negative complaints, let me explain to you that there are coats here that he could borrow and he knows that. In addition, the last coat he got was way more expensive than we usually pay for coats, and he has already lost it. Third, I offered to let him work for money and give him a ride to the Thrift Store to buy a warm coat, but he isn’t interested in that. And this is a kid who didn’t even do his chore this afternoon even though he owes us money for a phone bill, which is why I assigned him a chore.

So right now he is scrambling. He tried to get me to give him $20 for his birthday 4 months early. I offered to let him work for 20 but he isn’t interested in that. (By the way, the $20 he has to have tonight for some reason and it isn’t to buy a coat). He is getting so desperate he is calling friends all over the state. It looks like he may be planning to try to run again tonight. Who knows.

He actually has an interview at a ski resort on Tuesday, which is big news. It’s the job he really wants. I’m trying to stay positive and hope he gets it and that having that will help him turn around.

So going on strike is difficult because we have a few children who, because of their issues, have a “you punish me, I’ll punish you” philosophy. It doesn’t make us cowards because we continue to try to help them see what they need to do, but it does get fairly unpleasant.

And yes, next time we very well may call the cops. But the aggressive behavior for Mike is very a-typical and not a constant issue as it was for John.