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Boundaries That Protect
A child doesn’t have to be burned to learn that fire is dangerous. It’s not necessary to be hit by a car to learn that a street is not a safe place to play. Children need consistent reinforcement of truth to learn it. For most children, this will be enough to shape their thinking and influence their actions. While they are very young, we take them by the hand moving them out of danger while reinforcing with our words, “It’s hot, don’t touch it or it will burn you. It is dangerous to go into the street. That is a no! This is a yes.” Our actions and words influence…
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To Spank or Not To Spank–That is the Question
What one considers child discipline, another considers child abuse. Yelling and hitting may break a wayward child’s will but could also crush a child’s spirit. Too many children grow up feeling unloved due to a parent’s harsh critical anger. Some become timid melancholic children who share their time between unloving volatile homes, and schoolyards where they are easy targets for teasing. And these children will often tolerate abusive treatment as adults. I get it. Parents feel the need to exercise strict disciplinary action so their children don’t grow up to be psychopaths. But yelling and hitting don’t teach a child anything good. Besides,…
