Now why didn't I think of that?

As a parent, I always tried to get creative with punishment when the kids did something wrong. Slamming the door? Take the door off the hinges. Slam the lid on the toilet? Must need practice - raise and lower it 50 times - if it slams, start over. Forge a parent's signature on a paper? Lecture on forgery and the prison sentence followed by letter of apology to the teacher with signatures and counter-signatures (pretty tough on a 3rd grader).

Tonight, the television was on ABC when a comedy with Patricia Heaton "The Middle" came on. Being too lazy to find the remote, I let it stay there, after all, I think she's a good actress. Turns out the teenage boy was in trouble for saying he had gone to church, but instead going to the mall with a girl. Oooo. Big trouble, bad enough to lie, but to lie about church. Big trouble.

Dad came up with a punishment, the teenage boy had to stay within 5 feet of a parent at all times. Dad gets up to go to the fridge, teenage boy goes with him. Interesting part was when dad needed a shower, he suggested mom (who was at work) stay on the line with son (I guess 5 feet electronically was good enough). Mom said it was dad's punishment, make teenage son put on a bathing suit and go with dad.

Of course this would have been a problem for me with my girls, but I probably could have figured something out. "Excuse me daughter, can you hand me a pair of my underwear?"

I bet that would have prompted some obedience...

Two funny stories from school

Both of these are true stories, I have to protect the sources. But both were relayed directly to me from an inside source.

First a middle school kid was suspended for two days. The reason why isn't important, the father emailed the teacher and told her he was very disappointed. Seems the young lad (middle school) had been having problems so the father had him write an 1800 word essay on discipline and the consequences of suspension.

What makes this funny is that my kids think I'm the only one that does this kind of stuff.

Second is a high school kid in a government class. The discussion today centered on Governor Blagojevich being accused of selling President Obama's Senate Seat. This high school senior said he thought it was fine. After every one expressed their surprise, he pointed out that they are selling pens used by Obama and papers, why not sell his seat too? (This kid is a football player, but unfortunately, he's not THAT good).

Cell phones at school

I just got back from picking up my son's cell phone from school. Seems he was using it yesterday during class.

This school's policy is actually quite reasonable, if a little liberal. They allow cell phones on campus (after Columbine and 9/11 most schools do) but prohibit their use during the school day (presumably they would make exceptions during exceptional times).

If a teacher/administrator sees it out (my son's was vibrating inside his notes binder), it is confiscated and given to the front office. A parent can pick it up the next day. Second offense calls for it to be held for 30 days, third offense is 60 days, fourth is 90 days and fifth offense is until the end of school.

My punishment is harsher, no cell phone for undetermined amount of time (probably a couple weeks for this incident), then no cell phone at school for the rest of the year. He's also grounded for poor grades, so the actual punishment will be harsher.

The real key here is on preventing a reoccurrence of the "crime". The goal is to teach him that he shouldn't be texting while in class.