Boundaries

So, tonight I am contemplating "boundaries" and how to teach Liam this concept. He loves getting a reaction, even a negative one, and he has a hard time with impulse control. Today after being with his respite worker, he came home talking about "Alley mad" and "oh no balloon is lost." She called me later to explain what had happened: the balloon she gave him slipped out of his grasp in the car, so he was yelling at the top of his lungs for her to get it. She was driving so she raised her voice at him to stop and wait until they got home. She felt bad to have upset him; I told her it's okay - the kid has to learn!

During movie time he then proceeded to squish my squishy tummy, pull up my shirt, put his finger in my belly button, and crack up repeatedly. After tickle time was over I told him to stop - again-again-again, and he paid me no mind. Finally I had to yell at him - to which he covered his face with his hands and wailed "oh no Liam crying, it's so sad."

Sigh.

Then the word "boundary" came to mind. I know this is a hard concept for typical kids to grasp, so I can only imagine how much harder it is for Liam. Tricky as it is, it is essential for him to learn as he navigates the precarious world of school and social norms. At the mall play area, he likes to crash down the slide into other kids, and let them crash into him. His sensory feedback cries out for big movement, big feeling. He loves it. Other kids and moms, however, don't, and I have a hard time setting boundaries for him in public...because secretly I am happy to see him engage with and be interested in any kid his own age, never mind the activity he is doing.

So BOUNDARIES. This is going to be my rote speech to him for a while, until the concept starts to sink in. I want him to have friends and experience the fun of roughhousing with a playmate, but it needs to be with more awareness of what his friend likes and doesn't like, what is okay and what isn't. My heart aches to think of a potential situation where he is being made fun of because of his quirky ways. While I can't protect him from this completely, the seeds I can help plant NOW while he's in a mostly special-needs Kindergarten will hopefully go a long way towards insulating him in the future. And soon he'll learn to find his own boundaries, his own stop signs, on his road to figuring life out.

God I love my kid. :) Boundaries or no boundaries.