I hate punishing her

Every Friday night we switch off making dinner with some friends. The girls are good friends and we're pretty compatible with the couple.

M spilled orange juice on their carpet last Friday. D yelled about it and M told her not to tell. GOAM found the orange juice stain on Monday and got the story from D.

I am horrified. I found out about it last night when I went to SnB.

So this morning I asked M about the spilled OJ. She denied anything happened. I then told her that GOAM told me that she found the stain and D told her what happened.

So. M did three things wrong:

1. Spilled the OJ and didn't tell anyone about it.
2. Told D not to tell (D is one year younger and is easily manipulated)
3. Lied to me when she was confronted with what happened.

Bleh. I don't want a sneaky kid. I was a bit of one and find it very challenging to overcome as an adult.

So, M got three punishments today.

1. No TV for a week
2. No computer for a week
3. No participating in the Fairy play today at extended day.

She was most upset about not being able to participate in the Fairy play.

I was upset that she lied, damaged people's property, and manipulated a younger kid. Where does she get this? Do we all make our way though life and make these mistakes?

Since the Fairy play occurs in Extended Day, I went into talk to the teacher regarding what was going on. She said that they play video's just before nap time. I asked her to take M to the admin office.

I feel that I am a fairly strict parent and can be very controlling. I definitely have internal dialogues constantly to determine if what I'm demanding of M is really serving a purpose or am I just being controlling.

In this case, she needs to learn a lesson.

I am so sorry GOAM. If there's anything we can do, please tell me.