My friend April and I were comparing stories of how our kids acted in music class yesterday. It was April's son's first time at Musikgarten. He is 2 and he acted a little wild, April said, constantly throwing a drum mallet across the room. She didn't know whether to take him out of the room, keep giving him the mallet and not worry about it (because he wasn't hitting anyone) or let him scream and cry.

"I didn't know what to do!" she said, exasperatedly. She said eventually, she was able to distract him from the mallet and he started participating in the class. It ended up being fine.

I could relate, although my story doesn't have a happy ending.

I took 3-year-old Emma to Musikgarten (at St. Matthew's Church in Wheeling) yesterday, too. She's in the older kids' group. She's participated in Musikgarten since about 18 months old, but this is the first time she'd been in several months. She did not want to sit with the other kids, but instead ran around the room. The teacher said to ignore her, so I did, although it was difficult!

While I sat with the other kids and moms, followed the hand motions and sang, Emma climbed on chairs, clomped around the tile floor in my heels that I'd left by the door and got into the musical instruments. When she said she had to go potty, I took her and explained that I wanted her to participate or sit quietly, or else we'd leave. She chose not to do either. I finally had it when I saw her underneath the baby grand piano, pushing on the pedals. We were outta there.

When we got to the parking lot, she refused to get in her car seat. She cried to go back in. "I 'pologize, Mommy! I'll 'picipate,' Mommy, I promise!" She sobbed, she screamed. But there was no way we were going back inside. I told her I loved her but that I was disappointed in her decisions during music class. I said we'd try again next week. She cried all the way home to Martins Ferry.

Did I do the right thing? Should I have stayed, hoping she'd participate eventually with the group? She was so upset when we left, but my feeling is, that's tough. She was totally crushed that I was upset with her behavior, but again, I think she SHOULD be upset. Or am I just a mean mom?