Disciplining our children
Disciplining is tough - and often, midway, you wonder if it's really worth all the trouble.
We've been having trouble recently with both children - they are at the age where they want to push the limits, test our patience and basically do their own thing. Here are some of the issues we have to deal with:
And then we wonder - do we enjoy this? Do the children enjoy this? Who enjoys this? Is the screaming and crying making and sense? Sometimes everything points to No.
Who are we raising? We want to make sure our children can function a the highest level of society and contribute meaningfully. If they are disciplined as children, they would (hopefully) become disciplined adults too. After all, when they get older, it won't be a scolding or caning from us parents, it will be punishment from the market, society or (hopefully not) the courts. I like to think that when we discipline them now, we are loving them (that's what they always say right? What our parents used to say too) and preparing them for life ahead.
At the end, children will still be children. Short memory, and even shorter attention spans. We have to keep telling them over and over how to behave - but we should not give up. To give up on them would only deprive them of the discipline and love they need to survive in this highly-competitive world.
We've been having trouble recently with both children - they are at the age where they want to push the limits, test our patience and basically do their own thing. Here are some of the issues we have to deal with:
- Slow eating and playing with food
- Needless screaming
- Doing something right after we tell them not to
- Playing with water in the sink
And then we wonder - do we enjoy this? Do the children enjoy this? Who enjoys this? Is the screaming and crying making and sense? Sometimes everything points to No.
Who are we raising? We want to make sure our children can function a the highest level of society and contribute meaningfully. If they are disciplined as children, they would (hopefully) become disciplined adults too. After all, when they get older, it won't be a scolding or caning from us parents, it will be punishment from the market, society or (hopefully not) the courts. I like to think that when we discipline them now, we are loving them (that's what they always say right? What our parents used to say too) and preparing them for life ahead.
At the end, children will still be children. Short memory, and even shorter attention spans. We have to keep telling them over and over how to behave - but we should not give up. To give up on them would only deprive them of the discipline and love they need to survive in this highly-competitive world.
I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way ...The greatest love of all, Whitney Houston