Review Time

It’s again that time of the year, when I meet with D’s teachers for a parent-teacher conference.
I had a long meeting with Ms. Dee, the head teacher of D’s room yesterday afternoon. She had nothing but wonderful things to say about D…..

Oh, you are so lucky to have him as your son.
He is so agreeable (not sure about this one though. Agreeable to strangers could be a huge problem!)
He is a gentle kid who looks out for everyone
He is liked by all his friends and he listens
He doesn’t fight (phew, Thank God for this one!)
And yes, he is a debonair! (Am I surprised? Nope!)

I sat there listening intently to her while my chest swelled with pride! It was just amazing to hear his teacher say so many positive things about him. She went over some of the items in the preschool child development report that they complete every fall and spring. There were definitely a few areas that still needed work but in general, the sense I got from his teacher was indeed favorable.

I hope he continues on the same path. He has definitely gained some maturity these past few months. He still has his moments, his tantrums, but the nature of his tantrums has changed quite a bit. They are not as bad as they used to be and are much more manageable. He is more open to feedback, likes to reason and rationalize things and intently processes information before making any decisions. He is very particular about behaving in school. At home, however, it is a different picture all together. He is more active and often tests and tries our patience with his adamant behavior but I guess he does that because he regards the home front a safe territory and lets his guard down. Time outs and ‘sending off to the corner’ don’t work any more with him. He just pooh-poohs them. He rather talk it out with us which we prefer too since it is so much better than screaming at one another. I can’t stand myself when I raise my voice. And D too gets upset with loudness and unnecessary noise, something he will make clear to every one he interacts with. The only thing that works currently with him when he is in a midst of a terrible tantrum is when we threaten to tell him on his teachers. No matter, how angry or upset he is with us, he will stop as soon as he hears that, which, frankly amuses both Hubby dear and I quite a bit. When I mentioned this to his teacher, she said that he probably does that because he knows he has a reputation (that of a good boy) to protect and maintain. I found that quite interesting. This little boy is already conscious of how people view him!

I feel we have lucked out as parents to have such a sweet, loving, thoughtful, kind and sensitive little boy. Of course every parent probably feels the same about their offspring as we do. But Ms. Dee actually thanked both of us for setting a good example and teaching him the right things. I have always doubted my parenting skills and I still do in certain circumstances, but that vote of confidence from her, a revered teacher, really pumped me up.
Hence, the first thing I did after I got home last evening is give D a much deserving bear hug for his wonderful achievements and for making us proud (the timing was perfect-it made his birthday even more special!) and then both Hubby dear and I rolled our arms to our backs and gave ourselves a nice pat! Ahem!