In the past week, a couple things have happened in my world.
First, we learned that our 5 1/2-year-old needs a nap after school. Luckily, it only took us two days to realize what was going on. Unluckily, we haven’t figured out how to make it really work yet, so sometimes it happens, and sometimes…it doesn’t.
Second, I’d had it up to HERE (envision the hand at the hairline) with being ignored. For example: that blasted black sock was STILL sitting on the living room floor THREE DAYS and FIVE REMINDERS after first being pointed out/instructed to put it away.
I was not happy. Not happy at all.
Saturday morning, I cornered the kids in the van, where they were all seatbelted in and couldn’t get away, and I announced (calmly) (mostly) a change in procedures in our house. From now on, I will give an instruction one time. If I have to give it again, the consequence will be an extra chore. Two reminders = two extra chores. Three strikes and you’ve lost your screen time for the day.
That was 9:30 a.m. By lunchtime, Michael had lost his screen time.
On Sunday, Nicholas made it to two strikes. Even though we had a conversation about it while he was doing the job I’d given him.
(What kind of conversation, you say? I’m so glad you asked. Here’s a strong-willed child insight: “So,” he says, as he’s sllllooooowwwwwwllly doing what I told him and getting his a) loose change, b) wallet, c) ear buds, d) book off the table so I can set for dinner. “So…do we get three strikes every day? Or do they just add up till we hit three?” Would you like to know where I found all that stuff? On the stairs. Still not put away. Envision me pounding my head against the nearest hard surface.)
But wait! There’s more! Sign up today and for absolutely free (oh wait, this isn’t an infomercial? my bad) you’ll get Miss Julianna on Sunday afternoon, trying to sneak extra iPad time by closing the door to the boys’ room so I wouldn’t hear it talking to her.
And that night, in what is becoming almost a nightly pattern, we came upstairs to go to bed and found Nicholas and Michael having a sleepover on their floor.
As my husband is known to say, when told of his children’s latest and greatest exploits:
“Awesome.”
Kathleen M. Basi 
It’s neat that J has the intellect to figure out what she wants to do, know that she isn’t supposed to do it, and figure out a way around the problem (even if it wasn’t more successful).
I have a character in my novel based on what I think Julianna will be like when she’s twenty-seven years old. One of the lines in that book is: “Let no one say people with Down syndrome can’t be devious.” 🙂