Taking away a cell phone is not a new practice of mine. But I'm wondering if all kids are as completely freaked out by it as my daughter's have been. You would think Mercedes had just had a major appendage amputated. She violated our agreement several times during her first month and my intention was simply to have the phone in my possession for 3 days. However, she is turning this into quite an ordeal. After almost an hour of discussion between last night and this morning, and me remaining fairly calm for most of it, she has turned it into disowning me for life because of it. She is becoming stubborn and completely defiant and making matters much worse for herself.
You would think that it might sink in that I am the one with the power here. She wants something from me. So mistreating me really isn't the answer. If she loses her cell phone for the rest of her time living in my house the only thing that it is going to cost me is a little inconvenience which I would gladly trade for the major hassle of figuring out the bills, making sure she is following the rules, and facing her venomous wrath when she screws up and I have to take it away.
But oh, what she wants from me. She wants that phone back so badly it is consuming her every waking moment. And yet she cannot seem to cooperate with very simple requests that I am making of her. Things like, Please leave my office for a while. I need to go do a few other things. Or, give me the lock code on the phone so I can see who you are talking to."
But she is still in the stage of blaming me for the whole thing happening.
Dang it's too bad that those cell phone bills tell us everything. She lied to me multiple times last night as I held the proof in my hand.
And I just repeated myself again and again, "Cell Phone Bills Don't Lie. People do."
Anyone else had to experience this much drama over taking away a cell phone?
Taking away a cell phone is not a new practice of mine. But I'm wondering if all kids are as completely freaked out by it as my daughter's have been. You would think Mercedes had just had a major appendage amputated. She violated our agreement several times during her first month and my intention was simply to have the phone in my possession for 3 days. However, she is turning this into quite an ordeal. After almost an hour of discussion between last night and this morning, and me remaining fairly calm for most of it, she has turned it into disowning me for life because of it. She is becoming stubborn and completely defiant and making matters much worse for herself.
You would think that it might sink in that I am the one with the power here. She wants something from me. So mistreating me really isn't the answer. If she loses her cell phone for the rest of her time living in my house the only thing that it is going to cost me is a little inconvenience which I would gladly trade for the major hassle of figuring out the bills, making sure she is following the rules, and facing her venomous wrath when she screws up and I have to take it away.
But oh, what she wants from me. She wants that phone back so badly it is consuming her every waking moment. And yet she cannot seem to cooperate with very simple requests that I am making of her. Things like, Please leave my office for a while. I need to go do a few other things. Or, give me the lock code on the phone so I can see who you are talking to."
But she is still in the stage of blaming me for the whole thing happening.
Dang it's too bad that those cell phone bills tell us everything. She lied to me multiple times last night as I held the proof in my hand.
And I just repeated myself again and again, "Cell Phone Bills Don't Lie. People do."
Anyone else had to experience this much drama over taking away a cell phone?