RM Sep 28 - Deal or no deal

Deal or no deal

We have reached the end of the first month back at school, the first month gone into the Junior Cert year and so far not one of the deals the Young Wan and I made have been met.
Not any substantial ones anyway.

The main deal was that from Sunday to Thursday she is mine, all mine. Her job is to do her homework and an extra half hour study of one subject each night.

From what I can see homework has been done, just about and I am more than a little frustrated with it all.

I am fed up sounding like a nag; I am fed up reminding her of her side of the bargain.

I know it may sound a bit over the top to be insisting on such a routine at this stage of the academic year. However there has been no routine at all regarding school up to now. And I feel it is important to get stuck into a healthy and doable study regime because of that lack up to now. Think of how much less pressure she will be under come exam time.

So what was the Young Wan to get from all this? Well her weekends for a start.

Take for example last weekend, she finally cleaned her room to perfection (wow, really but that is for another column another day) the week before so her pal came over to stay.

I decided that I would spend the evening with Tetra and the beautiful Ella, leave the teens money to get a pizza and have fun without me hanging around.

The next morning I made them a gorgeous breakfast/brunch of French toast with maple syrup and crispy bacon.

I sent them off to get bacon and this was the first infraction of the day. They returned from the shops which are ten minutes away an hour and a half later, hence breakfast turning into brunch.
Once the dishes were washed up and away I handed the Young Wan money to go into town with only one instruction ‘do not come back with the crazy white make up’, then the bargaining over what time they could come home at started.

I said ‘be home at 5pm’, she said ‘7pm’. I laughed, heartily and said ‘6pm’, she said ‘6.30pm’, I said ‘6pm’.

At the end of the day it was Sunday evening, it was a school night and the dark evenings are drawing in, so I wanted them home relatively early.

She came home at 6.40pm and so this nonsense has continued. And she is coming home from school a little later each day. What part of during weekdays you are mine is she not understanding, it looks like the whole thing.

And I am not happy and neither is she, well would you if you were getting an earful all the time?
There is an easy answer to all this or is that too much to expect with a teenager?
Well I can tell you – it definitely is too much to expect.

But I am determined to make this routine work. I am determined to get a study routine in place; I am bloody determined to make her exam year easier on her and easier on me.

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