Dear Oldest Son,

[Joanne]

I love you.

This morning, I let you "use" the fact (or fiction) that your back hurt as an excuse to be impatient, unkind and unfocused during school.

OK, so that's permissible if it's not a chronic habit.

But you can't have it both ways. You can't claim "my back hurts real bad" *and* go to the YMCA for 2 hours of homeschool gym based activities.

You have 2 choices:

1) Your back hurts and you need to claim *all* related effects: difficult school, mimimal chores AND limited play and activites.

2) Suck it up, be quiet.

Just to be clear, in summary:

You can't claim pain related bad behavior and mitigated responsibilities and also unrestrictued usually play activities.

My mom used to put it this way: If you are too sick to go to school, you are also too sick to play.

Love,

Your Hard ________ Mom

[TCoppock]

"If you are too sick to go to school, you are also too sick to play."

Amen- MY mother used this on me and I use it myself now. Too sick for school too sick to play.

[Mama Lynx]

That's the rule here, too. If you're too sick to do your schoolwork, you should be in bed. You're too sick to play; you're too sick for computer games.

[RhondaM.]

I love you.


My mom used to put it this way: If you are too sick to go to school, you are also too sick to play.



I agree. Especially if I suspect that they are acting a bit more sick than they really are.

However...my ds has been feeling bad for the last couple of days...this morning he is running a fever...I've given him some advil, his fever is almost completely down. And while I'll let him play drums or games, I know he won't be in the frame of mind to focus or study.

So my rule does not always apply.

Totally different about having a hurt back and then going to Y. I'd have to agree with you there.

[Unicorn]

Do we have the same boy? My mother used to say " If you're too sick to go to school, you're to sick to watch t.v." (Forget about playing, no t.v., no nothin'. We were allowed to lie in bed-period.)

Man I'm a good mom. I let mine watch t.v. when they are sick.

[shell in SC]

My dd17 says "aw come on, you can't do that" when I say "because I said so."