Do they understand “no”? Of course they do! However, I’ve noticed far quicker obedience when I am more specific about what I’m saying no about, particularly when it’s something the child doesn’t exactly know is unacceptable. Last night, for example, Bethel (28 months) was pushing a very large model airplane that I had brought in [...]
Filed under: Communication and Meaning, Obedience
Going to the playground? Watch out for strangers. A sleepover? Check for older siblings and cousins. Exploring the woods next to the house isn’t an option any more. The kids can ride their bikes only in front of the house. In today’s world, we moms do have a responsibility to consider our children’s safety, and [...]
Filed under: Fear
Two bits of information about me: First, I inherited a love of tablecloths from my grandmother. Few things can put me in a good mood as quickly as a clean tablecloth and a pretty bowl on the table. Second, most of the time, I’m usually a pretty laid back mom. When a child spills something, [...]
Filed under: Mealtime
I have noticed recently that the difficulty I had with the kids getting overwhelmed at a big job seems to be getting better. Yesterday I let them dump out the toys in the toy bucket and when it was time to clean them up, they got right on it. Maybe Bethel’s developmental progress motivated David. [...]
Filed under: Child Development, Chores
The other day a visiting child cut David a paper square. She was very pleased with it, and tried giving it to David. David did not want it, so he was kind of running away from her. I started to tell David what to say, and I realized mid lecture that I was blurring the [...]
Filed under: Communication and Meaning, Lying
I’ve been reading through the gospels lately, and the teacher in me stopped this morning to consider Jesus’ habit of teaching by storytelling. As a child, I was given a stack of Christian novels for children from the early 20th century. Some were decent stories; most were of the “if you don’t go to Sunday [...]
Filed under: Communication and Meaning, Mom Time
One of the things we’ve been doing with Bethel (28 months) has been to teach her to look and respond to mom when her name is called. I don’t know if David learned this on his own, but Bethel hasn’t, so we’ve been teaching it. Right now, we’re still in the teaching stage (no consequences [...]
Filed under: Obedience
When an offense is unintended (as far as I can tell), and Bethel is crying “David knocked me down!” I usually tell David what to say, if he hasn’t already said it. Say “I’m sorry. Are you okay?” Give Bethel a hug so she knows you’re not upset with her. When an offense is intended [...]
Filed under: Communication and Meaning, Getting Along
Lee and I were discussing tattling the other night. He mentioned that there are other motivations besides anger for tattling. For example, some children tattle simply because they have a sense of justice (i.e., I cannot allow anyone else to do anything wrong). If you know a child who has Asperger’s Syndrome, you have probably [...]
Filed under: Getting Along, Using Questions
Psalm 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. While we shouldn’t display empty ritual for the purpose of showing our children how spiritual we are, there is a sense where it [...]
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