Doing Just Fine…

Every day when I pick little M up from school, I ask her teacher how she did that day…she always gives positive feedback, and that feels good…but I know our little M. I know our girl has a talent for working the system.

She loves her sticker behavior chart, and getting a prize at the end of the week, but that’s not the only way to work a system… our girl is cute. And she knows it. And she works it.

I have watched my cute, charming girl blatantly break a rule while smiling sweetly and charmingly at her teacher. Last week I watched another kid getting in trouble for cutting to the front of the line. And after watching him get sent to the end of the line, little M made her move, the same move that the other kid got in trouble for. And she got away with it! Or she would have, if I hadn’t argued with the teacher, and forced her into giving little M the same punishment she had just doled out to the other child.

The teacher said that little M is just so sweet, and doesn’t do anything maliciously or intentionally trouble-making. Awe, sweet…
Except I know my daughter. She IS sweet, and she knows how to use that…I also know that she watched another child get into trouble, and tried it for herself.
And I wonder how often that happens…
Last year little M’s teacher didn’t let her get away with this, and little M had a rough time. It took a long time before she decided she liked that teacher, but it was good for her.

How often does our girl use her sweetness to work the system? Who knows…because at the end of the day, the report is that our girl is doing just fine. I guess time will tell…