Mummy Told Me Not to Tell Read Online Free PDF

hurts. It’s not a nice thing to do.’ But his eyes were darting all over the place and I knew he couldn’t hear me even if he’d wanted to. ‘Reece,’ I said more loudly, still holding his shoulders, ‘Reece, look at me. You don’t bite.’ Still not looking at me, he brought his chin down on to his left shoulder and tried to bite my hand, which was resting there. Then he turned his head quickly and snapped at my other hand, but both were fortunately out of his range.
    ‘No!’ I said again. ‘Don’t bite. It’s cruel. You will stop that now!’
    He snapped again at both my hands, and then wrenched free of my hold and charged up the staircase.
    Veronica was beside me now. ‘Cathy, are you all right?’ she asked.
    We both looked at my hand, which still bore the perfect impression of Reece’s front teeth.
    ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It hasn’t broken the skin.’ I glanced anxiously up the stairs. I could hear Reece charging around the landing. I certainly didn’t want him up there alone.
    ‘Veronica,’ I said. ‘Could you bring Reece’s belongings in from the car while I go up and settle him?’
    ‘Of course,’ she said. I quickly propped the door open so that she could get in and out, and then I went upstairs.
    I found Reece in my bedroom, bouncing up and down on the bed for all he was worth. The springs bonged unhappily.
    ‘Off now!’ I said. He continued bouncing, turning away so that his back was towards me. ‘Reece! Get off that bed now!’
    He ignored me, so I moved forward. I leant over the bed and, taking hold of him round the waist, I drew him down on to the bed and into a sitting position. I sat behind him and encircled him with my arms, with him facing away from me. My hands covered his and were out of reach of his teeth. He laughed at being held, and then struggled, laughing some more, before finally he gave up and relaxed.
    ‘Good. That’s better,’ I said. I held him for a moment longer; then I took my arms from around his waist and took hold of one of his hands. I led him off the bed. ‘Reece, this is my bedroom,’ I said. ‘It’s private. It’s just for me. You don’t come in here. I’ll show you your bedroom when we’ve said goodbye to Veronica.’
    ‘Want to see it now,’ he yelled.
    ‘And I want you to stop biting, Reece. Look at my hand.’
    I raised the hand he had bitten to his line of vision while holding on to him with my other hand. Had I let go of him I had no doubt he would have shot off straight into another bedroom. ‘Look at those marks,’ I said, needing to make the point about biting. ‘Your teeth did that and it’s not good.’ In truth the physical damage was small, but biting is a nasty habit and I had to stop it straightaway. If he had broken the skin it would have been far more serious, for all types of infections including hepatitis and the HIV virus can be passed through blood drawn by a bite.
    Reece now seemed to be focusing on my hand and I left it in his line of vision while remaining alert to any sign that he might strike again. ‘People don’t bite each other,’ I emphasized. ‘And you mustn’t.’
    ‘I’m not a people. I’m a shark,’ he said.
    I turned him round to face me squarely, and searched again for eye contact. ‘Reece, you are not a shark. You are a little boy, and boys don’t bite.’
    ‘Yes, they do. I’m Sharky boy.’
    ‘You’re not Sharky. You are Reece and you will stop biting. Do you understand?’
    He didn’t say anything and his eyes once again ran over the room, looking at everything except me.
    ‘Have I got a telly in me room?’ he asked suddenly.
    ‘Yes, you have. And it’s a special treat to have a television in your bedroom. As you can see, I haven’t got one in my bedroom.’ I would be using the television in his room — as I had with other children who liked television — as a reward for good behaviour and its removal as a sanction for bad behaviour. ‘OK, Reece,’ I said, taking his left hand