Can someone PLEASE explain to me why...

First off, hello all! It is great to be back! Now that I am home, I should be able to update this site more frequently. Being an 'at home' mom of two young children, please believe I have something to say...

Anywho, back to title of this post: Can someone please explain to me why children like to lean on that last good nerve? I'm talking about damn near jumping up and down on it, as if they were playing hop-scotch!

Let me start by saying, I love my son. He is my first child. My pride and joy. Feel free to plug any and all of those wonderful adjectives mothers can use to describe a child they love completely, cause please believe I use them for my chunk. However over the last two weeks, he has been steadily cruising to into that danger zone of being LAID OUT.

I don't know, maybe it's his age bracket. I mean he IS only four years old. But for a four year, he seems kinda mouthy. Case and point, just the other day I said, "Chunk, can you come here please?"

And his reply?

"I'm watching TV."

Excuse me?

I thought maybe I heard wrong because, hey has happened before, so I said again: "Can you come here please?"

And his reply again was, "I'm watching TV."

We won't get into the fact that his reply was tinged with annoyance. As if I hadn't heard him correctly the first go 'round. I choose not to go there at this moment in time.

The point is, if I call, you come. Period. Not next week, tomorrow or the day after, but right now. Why? Because I am his mother.

At this point, I have added some bass to my voice. Y'all know what I'm talking about, right? The bass that clearly says, 'if your behind doesn't appear before me RIGHT NOW, I can promise you won't like the consequences', and that problem was resolved.

Back to the story at hand...

While my son is in pre-k, he does get homework. Nothing crazy (although I don't think I was given addition at four years old, but I digress), and not every night, but a cumulative effort of what had been in class during the week.

This week's homework consisted of several addition problems, my son writing 5 words that begin with 'E' and him drawing a picture of one of the books I've read to him at night.

Easy right?

Wrong!

It took 45 minutes to do 4 math problems...

Let me give you the breakdown:

The first two equations we breezed through: 10 + 3 and 6 + 7.

Like a pro, my son breezed through these problems counting the accompanying dots with each number to arrive at the desired answer, 13.

The first road block arrived in the form of my son writing the number '3' in 13 backwards. No problem, with minimal guidance, he writes the number correctly for the first equation and when we get to the second equation, there is no problem to correct. He writes the number 13 PERFECTLY!

When we get to the third equation (11 + 4), that the problems start to arise. Now for those who don't know, my son and numbers have been bossom buddies since he was about two. He was counting to 10 at the age of 2.

TWO!

Yet sudden yesterday, after counting to 13 without a hitch, when we reach this problem, suddenly my son can't count past the the number 7.

No, I am NOT kidding.

We are counting the matching dots in the equation and he completely and totally DUMBS OUT.

"Zahir, what number comes after 7?"

"Uhh...I don't know."

"C'mon Zahir, you just did this. You can do this. What number comes after 7?"

"10."

"Yes, 10, does come after 7 but what number comes directly after 7."

"4."

"No Zahir, 4 does not come after 7."

"Yes it does."

"No, it doesn't, Zahir."

"Yes it does!"

It does? Really? 4 comes after 7? It does? Really? Really?

How in the world did we go from counting to 13 FLAWLESSLY to not knowing EIGHT comes after SEVEN?

How is that possible?

It took TEN MINUTES of counting from 1 to 10, then 15, then 20 AND using the number chart we have to get the debacle straightened out.

TEN MINUTES! I was ready to pull my hair out. I tried to remain calm, I tried to remain cool, but it really seemed like my son was f*cking with me and I was NOT in the mood.

What happens then? All of a sudden, my son can't count in order without looking at the number chart.

Really?!

We move on to the next equation (13 + 0) and we come to the same road block, only this time he can't seem to get past the number 9.

At this point, he is in tears because my calm reserved voice has taken on an abbrasive tone. What can I say? When your child sudden 'regresses' before your eyes without explanation, you'd feel some type of way too. Especially when you KNOW and HAVE SEEN them do better.

Then I get hit with the "but I don't want to do this. I'm tired, Mommy."

Really?

How could he be tired when he cheerfully was watching TV a half hour ago. How could he be tired when it wasn't even 8PM. He showed no signs of this tiredness when he was sitting down watching 'Yo Gabba Gabba', 'Olivia' and 'Backyardigans' (Them I LOVE!).

No, he wasn't tired, he just didn't want to do his HW anymore. How do I know? We've played this game before.

And then we get the backwards 3 mess again.

So what happens next? I get the belt.

I'm tired of talking. I'm tired of placating. I'm tired of playing games. And I this point I know he is playing games.

I don't know who said it wasn't appropriate, but I am a firm believer of Proverbs 13:24, 23:13-14. Basically, spare the rod, spoil the child. Some parents agree with it, others don't. To each his/her own.

I know how I was raised and how I will raise my children.

And do you know what happend when I got the belt and sat down with it while he did his HW? All of sudden, my son could count correctly again. Eight came after seven. Ten comes after nine and the number chart is no longer needed. And my son can write the number 13 correctly.

Go figure.

Did I use the belt? No. But the threat was there.

Now my question is, why did I have to go through all of that? Why did my son deem it appropriate to take me to that place called 'LIVE' in which I had to threaten him with a few licks?

I mean really? Was all of that necessary?

Can someone please explain it to me because I would love to know...