No police yesterday, so I am calling it a win. mac fully admits there is something that happened on Friday that triggered everything, but he feels he cannot tell me. Hid DS is not coming out until he tells me. he has to learn that the world will not end when he admits something. also, the longer he does not tell, the longer he just internalizes how "bad" he is and he blows up at any little thing because he is staying at this mental and emotional place as seeing himself as this bad kid.

Birthdah Happies Vortex!!

msbelle- mac is so lucky to have you as a mom.

For those of you playing along at home, my cat just peed on my sofa! Yay? It was a lot of pee, but I am pretty sure this sofa is just completely trashed.

Sophia, yeah, that's a 'Yay?' indeed.

msbelle, I was thinking about mac and the DS -- I wonder if he uses the game-playing as a self-calming device? FWIW, I have a big tendency to do that myself with computer solitaire games like Cubis and Bejeweled, so I sympathize.

some of the games calm, but the two that he is obsessed with actually send him into a fairly highly agitated place. He will get frustrated and cry with these games, will sometimes go a day and only speak about them, he will not hold to the time limits of playing, and will pass on FOOD. ijs.

will sometimes go a day and only speak about them, he will not hold to the time limits of playing, and will pass on FOOD. ijs.

The first summer Emmett got his DS I think he played it close to eighty hours. Apparently you can track how much time you're on.

Sorry, I said "Bad Mac!" He's got a lot to work through.

some of the games calm, but the two that he is obsessed with actually send him into a fairly highly agitated place.

belle, which games are they? Do you want me to see if Lewis has some recs for games that are similar, but perhaps not as frustrating, for when you're ready to give him the DS back?

And I sympathize with the withholding. I've threatened Nate with dropping the sucker under the wheels of my car and running back and forth over it. I have very little patience for the thing which probably makes me a bad mommy-type.

Mac is really behind in developing imaginary play skills and cooperative play skills, so I limit his screen time to keep them from deteriorating. He would play it all the time if I allowed it.

Barb, the games are a Pokemon one and the Spectrobes.

I do think he has learned some things from the games - perseverance for one, and he got a game guide and had to read it himself (it had charts, step by step instructions, and maps). But the obsession and moodiness is too much given where he is.

Poor Mac. That is hard stuff to learn.

And poor Tom. I hope you get comp days, man!

It's cold today and the kitties are tucked under the fleece blanket and happy as clams. I think I'll follow their lead.