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Utter frustration that three toddlers were not listening to a word I said.
Placing them with more firmness than was warranted, each child was placed in time out throughout my apartment. No small task, given how small my place is and there are things for them to play with in almost any location I choose to put them.
With periodic, "NO! You do not get up until I tell you to!" commands, I sank to my knees, one more time. "God, what in the world do I do with these children!?"
The phrase, "What would Jesus do?" popped into my heart. With it, the question, "How would Jesus discipline?"
I know what He wouldn't do:
~ He wouldn't yell
~ He wouldn't grab arms a bit too hard
~ He wouldn't sit the kids in time out with more force than necessary
~ I don't think he would say in a very angry voice, "I. HAVE. HAD. ENOUGH"
~ He certainly wouldn't tell a child that they are naughty and exhausting.
What He probably would do:
~ Quietly bend down to eye level and explain to the child they were doing something wrong
~ Quietly, and with gentle firmness, put them in time out.
~ Gather them up in His lap after time out and use it as a teachable moment.
~ Pray with them
~ Play with them and get them to giggle after it was all over
~ Tell the child he loves them and focus on a positive quality they have instead of their naughtiness.
That's all I've come up with so far but my list is growing. In fact, I'm attempting, with each naughty act, to stop and ask Him, "What do I do? What would you do right now if you were here?" If anything, just stopping and asking this, helps de-esclate my anger so that I can discipline with more control and purpose.
I desire to be firm and consistent with the discipline in my home but not at the cost of love and patience. The only way I know to do that, is to discipline with Jesus' heart, not my own.
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2 comments:
Fantastic post! I've never thought about how Jesus would discipline a child before.
LocaChica
Gentle Christian Mothers (closed for new members until Jan 2010) is an awesome site for gracious parenting. Whenever I need an idea, I googled "Gentle Christian Mothers" + whatever I need help in! :) The public site is viewable without being a member.
As with any parenting site, there is a wide variance of beliefs on many topics (vaccines, etc.) but the women are united in desiring to love our children the way Christ does.
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