Getting To Know You…

Posted by admin on April 17, 2008

How far is too far ?

Three year old kids are constantly pushing the borders of toleration to see how much they can get away with before Papa says “Stop!”.

This is totally healthy and a necessary part of future character development.

Placing too many restrictions on kids will inhibit their growth while too many liberties will lead them to believe that they can do whatever they want.

Of course I want my kids to believe they can achieve anything they dream of and this is not what I’m talking about.

What I’m referring to is a ruthless personality used to getting what they want by any means possible.

So lines need to be drawn and adhered to by parents being consistent and standing by each other and whatever guideline decisions they make for their children.

This is how children learn to react with others fairly within society by retaining enough ego to fight for what they believe in while having the humility to admit fault or initiate personal change.

Children who learn within this environment and receive all the other parental care they need (healthy nourishment, outdoor activity, sleep, quality time (lack of T.V., junk food (candy, cola etc.) will not have blue faced kicking tantrums at the supermarket.

I feel blessed with my daughter because she has learned to be a strong person and teaches me something new every day.

When there is a debate about something we talk to each other and work it out diplomatically.

Sometimes this isn’t possible but it’s usually because she is tired or thirsty or something is bothering her that has nothing to do with our discussion and this is easy enough to rectify.

And yes, sometimes she says no just to test how far she can go but she knows that when i firmly say no that it must be good for her so after a little objection she finally concedes.

The worst thing you can do in these situations is to revert to a childlike character and start shouting at your child.

Children are like mirrors and will reflect what they see and will begin to believe that verbal conflict leads to resolution. A lot of mistakes parents pass on to their children were learned from their parents so maybe it’s time to break the cycle of tradition and lead our children into a new era.