Kid Notes

I hope I am not posting too often. If I am, let me know. I am new to this, ha, but something has come to my mind that I think you could benefit from.

Some of you are starting to have families and some of you are teaching and dealing with God's precious little angels on a daily basis. And that is the point I want to stress. We are all God's precious little angels, even though we may not act like it. So, I want you to love the precious little angel but not their bad actions. It is easy to love the child that acts wonderful, but what about the one that can never shut their mouth, or stay in their seat, or doesn't seem to want to cooperate? You have to find a way to let that child know you love them even when they are bad or disappoint you, AND, you have to discipline them also. When Whitney was a baby, I read all of the James Dobson books on child rearing and a couple of facts stuck in my mind all these years. One was never to spank a child with your hand. They relate this to your "person" being mean. Always use another object should you feel the need to spat the hand or the bottom. I used the wooden spoon! ha (I know some of you won't believe I ever did that, but I did.) The child will relate the hurt to the inanimate object rather than the parent.

The other piece of advice I remember was to always count to ten before you lash out punishment. This allows you to take a deep breath and think. Punishment should not be something that punishes the entire family or classroom, only the child that needs to be punished. Hopefully, it will allow you to step back and look at the situation clearly and keep your tone of voice cool and under control. A screaming parent raises kids that scream. Yelling tells the child you have lost control and lets them know they have raised your dander. It lets them think you are on their level and not in control. Stay calm. Remember you are the one who has authority (under God) so act God like. I just never remember a time that God has screamed at me! ha And, I do remember times that He maybe should have!

I love you gals! Have a Blessed day.