Running Away

When James is put on time out, he will say things in order to evoke a response.  Lately the expression of choice over the past week has been "I want to run away."  I am not sure where this is coming from.  As far as I know running away hasn't been highlighted in any of the television shows we have watched (mainly Curious George or Word World), and I doubt it has been a topic of conversation with the other children at the park.  Is this just something children instintively know about?  Does it go far deeper than that? 

I believe the intention behind James' words is to cause someone else to feel as badly as he does about getting a time out.  I don't know if that makes sense or not, but it where my thoughts lie.  It used to be James would say something like "Mommy is stupid!"  He has been told that word is not nice, so he would use it to release his anger.  Other times James will raise his voice and say something along the lines of "No, you go to time out right now!"  He has been told it is not okay to talk to his parents that way.  It is amazing how early the backtalking seems to start.  For some reason I had thought this stage would come in later years.  Apparently there is a small tinge of it in the early years, and I imagine it just grows and manifests itself differently as children get older.

It doesn't necessarily bother me that James says some of these things.  He is trying to express himself.  Don't get me wrong...sometimes the words James chooses to use can be hurtful, and I am not condoning being disrespectful or calling people names or anything of the sort.  At the same time, though, I know James needs an outlet, and somehow I need to figure out a way to allow him an outlet that is more acceptable.  At the moment, we have chosen to just ignore what James shouts out, and once he has quieted down we start his time out.

James really is a love bug though...even if this doesn't paint him that way.  I love the boy to pieces!  He has such a tender heart, and part of me wonders if that is a small reason why he lashes out during consequences...because it breaks his little heart that he got into trouble, and he is hurting, so he is trying to hurt others.  I will probably never know for sure, so I wonder.