Faulty Parenting

Ok, let's face it. None of us are perfect-- Sorry to burst your bubble. And having kids is one of the best ways to face all your sins. Sounds like extra fun. So I thought I would share some of our own faults with you, as an extra reminder to be careful, watch what you say, and admit we make mistakes too.

"I QUIT": Recently our older son has been spitting this out at the first sign of defeat. Especially with sports lately. It has been really frustrating. We have given all the song and dance about "keep trying", yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. Not much helps. And he has no problems pulling out a dramatic temper tantrum regardless of who is around. (Mom....I don't want to hear it :-)).

We have been analyzing this lately, trying to come up with a solution. In the process we have discovered something we have been doing. Both my husband and I can be very sarcastic, especially when we get frustrated. We realized we have probably said "I QUIT" many times out of desperation. In reality, neither of us are quitting. It's just an expression to us. But, not knowing sarcasm, we think our 5 yr old somewhere along the way picked it up. Now we are stuck with trying to "undo" it. Where is the handbook when you need it.

LYING: Ok, my 5 yr. old totally caught me in this yesterday. How humiliating!! I was trying to get the 2 yr old down for a nap, without a screaming fit. After announcing nap time, he told his big brother to "come on..it's nap time". Well, the 5 yr old wasn't going to take a nap. So I told our 2 yr old, he would come in a few minutes, just not right now. (Remember, I didn't want an issue.) After I got back, my 5 yr. old asked me if he was going to have to take a nap. I said "no" since we had to do school. Which, he responded, "then why did you tell Gavin I would come later." CAUGHT, red handed!!

So what do we do about all this. Well, for starters, remember to apologize to your kids. Yes, we are usually right, and they are wrong. But like I said, we make mistakes too. Apologizing can go a long way in their minds. Let them see you actively working on your mistakes and situations. You will fail at something...you can just keep trying harder the next time. And pray, pray, pray. There is nothing more humbling than being a parent and seeing all of your sinful ways coming out through your kids.