Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Complexity of a Seven-Year-Old

Before you read this post, you need to know:
These photo were taken LAST YEAR.





Remy is a natural at sports.
He loves playing all sports.
He's played soccer, baseball & basketball for several years now.

Well, this winter, it came time to sign up for baseball.
So, I signed him up, like always.





Then, a couple of weeks ago, it was time for the first practice.
And Remy informed me he did NOT want to play baseball.
He told me he hated baseball.
He said I forced him to sign up.

I was confused.
Is this not the same child who loved baseball last year?
And the year before?
And the year before?

The same child who has played baseball for three years and excels at it?






Apparently.

Well, I talked him into going to the first practice...but I couldn't take him because I had to work.
His dad took him.
And it did not go well.

He spent the entire practice under a park bench crying.
My husband had gotten him there a few minutes late, which if you know Remy at all, you know he HATES being late. And this was a new team, he didn't know anyone. So, he was uncomfortable. All those things combined made for an unhappy Remy unwilling to try.

And after that, he said NO MORE BASEBALL.






But, with a mother's intuition, I knew I had to keep trying.

I bribed him.
I said, "Remy, if you try one practice and one game, I'll buy you that Indiana Jones Lego kit you want."

After some hedging...and perhaps me pulling up said lego kit on Amazon to temp him...he agreed.

And yesterday was another practice.
He went.
He played.
He played REALLY well.
He got his uniform.
He liked it.

"Mama, I love baseball."





Why does parenting have to be so complicated?!



19 comments:

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

Oh, this has Madalyn's name written all over it. I think that Madalyn has it all figured out. She knows that if she acts like a sh*t...then she might get something for acting the way she should have to begin with. She is a master :-)

chelsea said...

how cute is your site?! thanks for stopping by my blog :)

theUngourmet said...

Good for you! And bribing with the Lego kit is just awesome! I find Legos do the trick every time!

Anonymous said...

Kids...lol...did you ever find out WHY he didn'twant to do it this year??

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Something about Mom lets them know what to do. Good for you! I'm glad he ended up enjoying baseball.

Valarie Lea said...

I know, I know, you did the right thing though. I can remember getting the call from my coach wanting to know if I was playing and I said no. I still wish I had said yes, but I was 10.

Jen said...

You really know your kid. Good job!

sassy stephanie said...

My first born is very much like that. She is used to being the Alpha female and hates new situations. Glad to hear things turned around.

Swirl Girl said...

the darn things don't come with a manual.

Christina - Rant Rave Roll said...

HeeHee.. He sure doesn't look miserable in those photos. Glad it all turned out good!

tula monstah said...

bribery works like a charm! Have fun!

kisses,
tula

Screwed Up Texan said...

Looks like you pushed him to suceed. Good job!

Misty DawnS said...

I swear you have the 'deepest' and most 'complex' seven year old I've ever met! That's why I love him so much ;-) He's going to make something of himself... you just watch!

lynette355 said...

great, so it was ok that i bought HSM jewerly (w/troy) and a bugle boy watch to bribe the neighbor kids to clean their rooms......whew, i am glad i am not corrupting these kids. lol heck it worked.

Justine said...

Why do our children have to be such huge pains in the ass?? I mean really!

Justine :o )

www.JusticeJonesie.com/blog said...

That's a great story. I'm so glad it worked out.
Thanks for visiting MamaLaw and the warm welcome to SITs!!

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

I swear they do this to drive us insane.

Anonymous said...

That's sooo funny.
I've just successfully bribed my 5yr old with Indiana Lego to "do his best" at his swimming lessons he didn't want to be in. He ended up doing wonderfully and passing.
Sometimes, that's just what it takes!

Mama Dawg said...

Cause it makes the rewards THAT much sweeter!