The computer wars rage in our house. Everyone wants screen time, and they want it ALL the time. You think I’m kidding …
Mommy, of course, is no exception. Beyond my musings here and my photography here, I also have legitimate claims to the computer. Accounting software keeps tabs of the family business as well as personal finances. Freelance work requires my Adobe Creative Suite and MS Office. And, of course, the occasional web browsing and social networking.
But it takes something important for me to force the issue during daylight hours. It’s simply easier to wait until the kids are in bed and stay up working on whatever needs to be done. Or squeeze it into the few hours when everyone is in school during the week.
So the boys are left to fight it out.
Sawyer is perhaps the easiest to pacify. He simply likes to watch other people play games or watch videos. He can be content to sit beside Xander or Connor as they manipulate the controls.
Xander is the die-hard addict. It was something we had to forewarn his new Early Start teachers about at the beginning of the school year. He is obsessed. He will even go out of his way to ask – politely and correctly – for permission.
“I … want … computer please!” He drags out the first two words, and then throws the other two hastily at the end. But he makes the request ALL the time.
At first, we wanted to reward him for making an appropriate request. But it quickly turned into an issue of larger evil. If you let him, he will stay on there for hours and hours and hours. Not kidding at all.
Connor is more reasonable. He likes the computer, and will occasionally spend an hour or so playing games. He requests it often, too, but more in response to the fact that his brothers are constantly perched at the desk playing (or watching, in Sawyer’s case) games.
But he will willingly turn it off. Or do rational things like stop to go to the bathroom or perhaps eat a meal. And he will do so without screaming and throwing himself in the floor (unlike a certain unnamed twin who is a little more obsessed).
But this weekend Connor proved a little too smart (and a little too malicious) for his own good. Connor had just gotten a turn on the computer, after Xander (who of course thought his turn was too short). He realized he needed to do one of those rational things – go to the bathroom.
That was a problem. That persistent, unnamed twin circles the computer waiting for a sign of weakness (or abandonment). You can simply turn your head to talk to someone, and he will sneak in behind you and take over the mouse. It doesn’t take much.
Connor knows this. And he was determined to keep his spot.
What, you ask, is a boy to do?
Well, if you’re Connor, apparently you lead your little brother into his bedroom (perhaps with a little pushing and shoving). You do this because you know that little brothers still have the locks reversed on their rooms, just in case they need to be kept contained (during one of their all-night wake fests). So you shove your brother in his room, pull the door closed and lock it. Then you proceed to the bathroom knowing your computer will be safe.
Except that Mommy catches you. And while she applauds your critical thinking and problem solving skills, she cannot exactly tolerate your methods. Forcing little brother into his room is a problem, especially since he was protesting. Locking the door and leaving him there is even more so.
The computer was simply turned off. Connor was sent to his room for a little timeout, followed by a discussion about appropriate behavior toward his little brothers and better ways of achieving his goal. You know, the kind that doesn’t involve locking people in their rooms.
