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Q13: What has your child done that is technically "wrong" but...

...you were proud of them for doing it?

By: Charlotte Clark

My son is 11 and is in his first year of Senior School. He is an absolute angel of a child who, other than letting out the odd dramatic sigh when asked, does everything he is told. My daughter is 8, Autistic which seems to make her way too honest for her own good and in no uncertain terms, she is a snitch!! My girl cannot lie or keep secrets. I can read both of them like a book! Well usually anyway!

The day before Lockdown began in the UK, i woke with a slight cough. Other than that, it was a normal morning. I had heard my son leave for school as i was having a wash and getting dressed.

After rushing around and giving many reminders to my daughter to put on her damn shoes, we leave the house and I drop her to school on my way to work.

Through the course of the morning my cough was getting worse so after a quick chat with my boss at 11am, we agreed I should go home and enter Self Isolation.

Cue a phone call to my daughter's school saying i was picking her up and a voicemail being left with my son's school asking them to send him home. As soon as i had collected my daughter, I then text my son explaining so that he didn't worry about being pulled out of class.

Within a minute of sending the text and less than 10 mins after leaving the message with his school, my son calls me. My daughter answered and put the phone on loud speaker because I was driving. I couldn't believe how efficient the school had been until he told me I was going to be angry with him and he was really sorry. He then admitted he was at home already. He hadn't gone into school that morning.

My daughter immediately burst into hysterical tears. I assumed it was because I had promised her she could play on his xbox until he got home, but when I told him angrily that he had lost his xbox for a week and that she could have it in her room, he told me she had known and had helped hide him that morning so I wouldn't know he had actually shouted goodbye and slammed the door then crept to hide in his bedroom. She was crying because she felt so guilty about not telling me.

I knew I had to act angry with them both, but inside i was dying to laugh!

My son, the goodie two shoes who never does anything wrong, actually had the guts to bunk off school and hide in the house. Any other time he would have gotten away with it because he gets home from school before I finish work and pick up his sister. He was so unlucky that day.

My daughter, the 8 year old who is THE worst liar in the world and the snitch of the century, managed to keep his secret and help him despite how difficult her Autism would have made that for her.

I was able to use the experience as a lesson to him about how much his sister loves him. They usually argue like cat and dog but that day she had his back. They seem closer now, like he's gained a new respect for her. For that alone I am so grateful.

Of course i kept up the seriousness of lying and didn't let them see me laugh about it, which was even more difficult when my son finally admitted the reason he didn't go in was because the day before he had asked a girl out and she'd said no. He had 3 out of 5 of his classes sat next to her that day and he just couldn't face it. My 11 year old son was heartbroken and he'd already confided in his little sister the night before.

I love these 2 children so much!! Yeah they lied, yes they argue, but when it boils down to it, they have a bond like no other and I am truly proud of that!!