Mack is growing. His brain and body are dong big things. As a child who already struggles with his brain moving too fast, this growth causes significant issues. For several days, he has encountered many opportunities to make good choices with his body and words, but he has not. His brain is moving so quickly around so many ideas that he cannot isolate any to think about them fully.
When we stake him, we keep him close so we can help him stop to think. This may sound like a horrible punishment...for him and us. It is not simple to be sure. This method helps him reset and remember to stop and consider his surroundings and other people.
He isn't intentionally destructive or mean, but he has so much flying around in that brain that he cannot possibly stop for each thought. He struggles to isolate them and consider them all. We help when we can keep him close and intervene. We teach him which thoughts to give more time. We support his decision making processes.
Sometimes, he must go with us where we need to be. Other times, we go where he is. When neither of those is feasible, he is alone in his room. He cannot disturb other people or their things when he is in his room. We try to limit forcing him to be alone or come with us everywhere, but it is part of the need when we have to revisit this method of teaching.
Not every child needs this much hands on parenting. This is special to Mack in our house. If you have a child like Mack who needs more consistent, present parenting, you know how time consuming and exhausting this method can be. I promise, it pays off in the long run. We rarely have to return to staking these days because we did so for a long time when he was a toddler. We are more than willing to pay this small price to ensure Mack remains respectful and kind, though.