Friday, October 14, 2011

Self-Destructive

Sammy was angry all morning. Stomping, spitting, breaking the rules, yelling at us. At one point when things were calm, I mentioned that she needed to remove her own toys from Leo and Zoe's toy shelf. (This is something we're working on.) She told me that she wanted to put her scissors on their shelf so that they could use them when they got older. Then it got real quiet.

A few minutes later Sammy came into the living room and looked in her mirror. I asked if everything was okay. She said coyly, "You know what I'm going to say, don't you?" This means she broke the rules, or is about to ask if she can break the rules. She came over to me and was about to whisper in my ear when I said, "Oh, I see it. You cut your hair." She had cut a couple of locks from the front. I said, completely calmly, but with mild disappointment in my voice: "It looks bad. And your school pictures are coming up soon, so it will look that way for your picture. And when you put it up in a ponytail, that part won't go in the ponytail because it is too short."

She said, "Yeah. I miss my hair." I told her that it would grow back, but that it would take a long time.

Someday, that girl will learn that actions taken in anger never do her any good. I don't know how long it can take to learn that lesson, but she certainly gives herself enough opportunities to learn it. I guess it's a difficult one - plenty of adults have never learned it either.

2 comments:

  1. For what it's worth, the self-styled coiff is really common around this age (I was able to make a cute pixie out of Victoria's previously long hair). Are you familiar with this book: When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry? It has nothing to do with hair cutting, but with being angry, by yourself, and finally returning as part of the family. We liked it.

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  2. Lynne, yes, I just saw your post about that book! We have read it before - I must have checked it out of the library once. I remember it being very good. Maybe we need to try it again. Sammy is definitely a volatile kid. (And she's loud, too, so I might have to get the other book you mentioned!) I'm not worried about her hair. It's not too noticeable. After Halloween (when she needs her long hair to be a witch), she's getting a hair cut for sure.

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