Meal times

Dinner tonight. I sat at the head of the table. Abigail sat on my right. Seth sat on my left.

Seth dancing.
Me to S: "Hold still and eat."
Seth holds still but shakes his head.
Me to S: Hold still and eat please."
Seth holds still but begins  humming/singing
Me to S: "Stop singing please and eat.
Me to A: "You too."
Me to S: "Don't hit your head. Eat your dinner please."
Me to A: "Use your spoon and take a bite."
Me to S: "You too."
Me to A: "Get your foot off the table."
Me to S: "Get your foot off the table."
Tyler to A: "Foot off the table
Seth: burp
Me to S: "Get your foot off the table, and what do you say?"
Seth: "'Scuze me. Screech!" His hand smacks his forehead.
Me to S: "Eat your dinner please.
The kids look at each other.
Me to both: "The next person to put their foot on the table is excused from the table with no food."

My head was constantly moving left and right. As soon as I'd finish correcting behavior on one side, another would pop up on the left.

Meal times are hard at our house. Seth is confined. He has a simple task to complete and yet he makes it so difficult to do so. There are very few other situations in which his ADHD is more apparent than at mealtimes. He's constantly moving. He'll take a bite of food and stand up while he's chewing. He'll do a few ninja moves and sit down. He'll take another bite, then rhythmically bang his fists on his head. He'll reach out and touch everyone and everything. He'll squeeze my arm and tell me he loves me and then kick his sister under the table. He'll lay down on the bench and hold his breath. He makes noises. All kinds of noises and hand gestures to accentuate him.

I used to hate sitting down for meals with my kids for that reason. I'm always getting after them to do this or stop doing that. Tonight was a perfect example of why I used to hate meals. I still don't love them, but at least I'm able to manage my frustration. When I was dealing with frustration and anger, it was unbearable.

Now I'm not scolding. I'm teaching and reminding. Seth knows how to eat. He just needs to be reminded that it's time to eat and not time to tell the same knock knock joke 80 times. (Especially since he tells it wrong but he's convinced I'm the one telling it wrong.)

And honestly? Now Tyler and I will catch each others eyes over the kids' heads and laugh.

It's good to laugh at these things, right?