Today it was confirmed for me by a 5-year-old that I am doing something right in my parenting.
🙂
Camryn left yesterday after a long weekend of staying with us. She cried on the way out, and nearly cried all the way home (over an hour to get home). She told Mom:
“Kwabi got put in time-out! I think I need time-out, too!” (This is coming from a child whose forms of discipline are only loud words and empty threats). She liked that I didn’t raise my voice to yell at Kwabi, that I simply took him to his room and put him in time-out when he was misbehaving or not listening to me.
Kids want structure. They want to know what to expect….they want to know consequences for behaviors…. So to hear Camryn say that she wants time-outs, too, when she misbehaves, and that she liked that I didn’t yell, speaks volumes.
This weekend we were playing musical instruments. She was playing the drums, making up a song. And in that song, she sang about how her mom and her brother (age 13) always yell at each other……..her brother is always texting on his phone……It reminded me of a therapy session–how stressful environments such as those really do make an impression on a child, and even if they don’t say anything out-right, somehow it comes out in their play.
Anyhow, I like to see that my positive parenting rubs off on others. It’s good for her to see that, yes, some kids have boundaries, and not every parent yells at their kids.
(Oh, and she also said that she wants to go clean her room now, too, because Kwabi’s room is neat and clean). LOL
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