Following Directions

Just the first week back to school, Đán already received a warning. One of his teachers wrote:

Hello Truong Family,

I’m happy to have Dan in my class. I want Dan to be successful in first grade.

I have noticed that Dan needs many reminders to follow directions. Many times he is distracted and talking with others or simply not listening to my directions. Dan is also having difficulty following directions while walking in a red zone (quietly walking in the hallway).

I have given him reminders about following the rules.

Please speak to him about listening and following the rules in first grade. Please let me know if you have any questions.

We look forward to next week and hopefully see that Dan has turned his behavior around!

Thank you.

The boys, Đán in particular, have been ignoring our instructions and they irritates the heck out of me. For instance, when I asked him to stop bothering his brothers, he did it even more.

What drives me crazy is the constant playing, running, and screaming between Đạo and Đán. They have no concept of appropriate time and place. They played all the time and continued to do so even when we asked them to stop.

Last night my wife was not in good mood. Xuân was crying and she was trying to get him to sleep. She asked the boys to brush their teeth. They played around in the bathroom. She told them to stop and to be quiet so Xuân could sleep. I was downstairs doing the dishes. A couple of minutes later, I heard loud screaming and jumping. I knew they were going to get it. She came out and punished them.

It is so infuriating when they ignored our requests. When I asked them to put the toys away, wash their hands, and eat dinner. They just went on and played as though they did not hear me. A couple minutes later I repeated and still no response. Repeated for the third time and nothing happened.

I am not impatience, but I have limitations. They always push it to my limits.