Discipline

I've mentioned before that I have problems disciplining my children. It really bothers me to hear them cry. Logically I know that I'm doing them a dis service by not disciplining them, but it still hurts my soul.

Anyhow, I'm reading a really good book called "The Year of Living Biblically" by A. J. Jacobs. It's a humours book about a guy that tries to live the bible literally for a year.

I enjoy it because I have so many things that are in the bible that I question, but I am taught to go on faith. That's a whole other post.

So here is what the book says:

"I've got to get stricter. Look at the example set by God. The God of the Bible treats his children - the human race - with both justice and mercy. Right now I'm out of wack; I'm 10 percent justice and 90 percent mercy. If I had been in charge of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve would have gotten three strikes, then a fourth, then a stern warning, then had their bedtime moved up twenty minutes. God, as you know, kicked them out. As a sign of His compassion, he clothed them in animal skins before the eviction, but He still kicked them out."

That fits me to a T. I pray about this regularly. But my daughter prays against me, LOL. She asks that the lord makes me not so angry and to let her do more stuff.

That's what I gotta do...start kicking them out right away. I let them push me too much. They win more often than I do. Dang it.

I want to be the winning team. Because when a parent operating in the best interests of their child wins....everyone wins.

Run boy run!!

So yesterday my kids are playing on the couch. I know, I'm a bad parent because I let my kids romp all over my furniture, but if it keeps them occupied for 15 minutes, it's worth it to me.

So anyhow, the normal hitting/slapping is going on....

I tell the boy to stop, he says NO. I tell him if he tells me no one more time, he's going into time out.

Not only does he say NO to me, but he shakes his fist at me.

Now I'm seriously offended. I did not raise him like that. His entire 1 year of his life has been modeled to respect his mother and other adults.

So I go over to pick him up to put him in the time out zone. My lovely little daughter, who just moments ago was screaming about being hit, says to her brother "Run boy Run - you are going to go into time out - RUN!!"

I'm torn. I want to laugh really hard. If it wasn't my own child, I would have laughed so hard I'd have probably peed my pants.

But this is my child. I must set an example.

So I, trying to keep a straight face, let the Little Princess know that is not acceptable behavior, and if I catch her saying it again, I'll be putting her in time out.

Sigh......

Why does she have to have the mouth of a teenager??