Morning,
Today as I dropped off my kid at the gym’s child watch, I heard something that made my heart smile.
My kid had forgotten to bring in his toy car in with him, and realized that after we entered the child watch place. Now, it was about a bazillion degrees below zero outside, so when said kid asked me to go back and retrieve the car, I say, alas, no, it’s too cold, but you can have it when we leave the gym.
The instant response was, no no no, I want it now! I listened for 13 seconds, and then simply held out my hand and said,
“One.“
That’s a cue that Mommy has started counting, and life will be most unpleasant if she reaches “3.” My kid looked at me, sighed, and went off to play.
But the cool thing was, the teacher who was watching said to her colleague, how on earth does she DO that? Every single time he listens when his parents say
“One.“
It’s called
Setting Expectations!
My children know what’s expected, and they also know what constitutes good behavior. 2 minutes after this, my kid was happily playing with everyone else, his anger forgotten.
Raise your children with boundaries, and they will respond!
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – want some good child-rearing guides? Consider: