Discipline

Sometimes it becomes hard to do the right thing as a mummy.  It is especially hard when the child in question is going through cancer treatment.  I did, however, decide to enforce the law today and felt good (although also like crap at the same time) about it.  Sam is not on any chemo or steroids at the moment.  It is his natural
"off" week until Thursday when, fingers crossed, he gets to start the next cycle of poisons, uh, I mean chemo!  Anyway, Sam has been pushing my buttons all week, feeling too weak to do this, too tired to do that, too blah blah blah to do anything actually asked of him.

He did this today as we were trying to go into a house we were visiting briefly.  He cried and huffed and really would have puffed the house down in his temper if he bellowed much more.  I decided it was nothing more than wanting his own way so I removed him from said home but explained in a firm voice how displeased I was with his unacceptable behavior and banned him from his DS (little game playing thingy) for the rest of the evening!   He was mortified but, he seemed to 'get it'.  He cried a little again at home when I reminded him that he must not only do things he wants to do, and has to think of others sometime, then he played and was a happy bunny again...wow!  He didn't crumble into dust and get blown away on the wind like I feared :) 

Lesson learned...when Sam is NOT on steroids and heavy chemo ( pain and suffering are not times I will assert my big heavy mummy hand), he will be expected to behave like a human being and have the usual consequences doled out to his brother.  I feel life will be easier for us eventually (not initially as he gets used to the idea), and it will help Jack feel like he is treated more fairly.  It only took five months since diagnosis for me to work this out...but I'm glad I did.