4 January 2007
see-food and third person
Posted by Michelle under: Discipleship; Mealtime; .
Today at lunch, David instructed Bethel in the art of “see-food.” She happily followed his example, even after I squelched his lessons. I suspected this was something David learned from a church potluck the night before, where all the children sit together. (I did not see any of this behavior, but I was close enough to stop an older boy from throwing ice.)
When they went to take a nap later, I started probing to figure out where the behavior came from.
I soon figured out that David was going to agree with anything I said, “Is showing people chewed up food rude?” Yes. etc. I’m particularly concerned because David is extremely observant, and I want to help him discern appropriate and inappropriate behavior that he sees (without becoming arrogant, a delicate balance)
I remembered Mom’s handy-dandy third person trick: for nonthreatening discussions, stick to third person. So I talked about Johnny. What should Johnny do when another boy shows him his chewed up food. Would that be funny? (yes) Should he laugh? (maybe [to be honest]) Should Johnny do it too? Why not? (and so on)
I’ll have to remember this trick. I think it will be very useful for this child.
Popularity: 11% [?]
You may also be interested in these posts:
- What was your Bible lesson about?
- The eyes of the Lord are in every place…
- Dealing with Deceitfulness
- What makes me feel better?
- Teasing and Empathy
