Tip #6: The 12 Days of Parenting Tips for Christmas
Yesterday was a crazy day. Everywhere I went, and I was all over the place, kids were tempted to touch, had “I-want-it-itis” were hungry, and tired. The parents were in the same boat as I was, we had to get done what we had to get done, it’s that time of year!
I watched many parents try to stop the whining and persistent complaints by cutting the kids off. I know they were just trying to keep the ball rolling. Some seemed to assume they knew how their kids felt, they reacted without listening, and tried to move on. Of course that didn’t work very well. And a few minutes later there was a crying child and a parent threatening to give a timeout, take something away, or worse.
What made me sad was the look on the child’s faces when they got cut off. It was as if their feelings had gotten stuck in their mouth, unable to be fully expressed. The child wasn’t sure what to do from there. That’s when immature reasoning and habit kicked in—and misbehavior reared it’s head. Tip #6 from “The 12 Days of Parenting Tips for Christmas” may help.