Right from the time our son first had his Time Out when he was just a year and three months old, we already explained to him why there are rules. Merely saying “No” to a child will never be enough. Even as a child has got to do what he’s got to do – that is to explore, parents should as well do what they’ve got to do- discipline, that is and explain the values behind rules.
Truth be told, rules go beyond just a list of Do’s and Don’ts. It is the very avenue that children learn values from that they take with them as they grow older.
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
Let’s take for instance, teaching a child to pack away his stuff when he’s done playing. Even as a baby who still fitted perfectly in his stroller, we already tried to get that message across. As soon as Jed learned how to go around the house, he was already taught the importance of learning to pack his stuff away. It was before he turned a year old. And the good news about it is, since a child is new to everything in the world, he might as well learn that packing away is a part of playing and not a chore that he has to endure when he’s gotten tired of his toys. The better news that comes out of it all, now that he’s turning six, he’s so gotten used to it that he hardly needs to be told!
The values behind packing away is another thing that we had to teach him – neatness and self-discipline. Two of the things he can surely make use of as he grows to be a mature young man. Of course, not to mention the fact that he will be less of a headache to his wife in the future when he has a family of his own. It really can be done and it will not mean that you love your child any less when you teach him these things. It wasn’t so hard. There were not even tears along the way. This kind of discipline can in fact be done in a fun way– communicating to him how much he is loved for you are looking out for his life in the long haul and not just for the here and now.
Jeff shared Three Simple Tips on How to Discipline. Discipline, after all is not a dirty word. This is how we manage to raise a non-bratty unico hijo. It does not just allow us to have a child we can live with. It can also be the very vehicle that we can use to allow our children to have a life of quality.
