I am so thankful this one was my third boy and that he has two older brothers who spy on him.
I am thankful that I was able to see what happens when you "slack" on discipline in the early years so I can remind moms (don't slack). I have double the work with my precious child now. He's not rotten but his strong will is a product of me allowing him to create that strong will inside him.
A few mornings ago the big boys told me while lining up to leave school Kannon blew raspberries toward a teacher as a joke to be silly. I was mortified. The older three NEVER would have done this! To some that might seem childish and fun, in my house, the tongue stays in the mouth when interacting with adults.
I am told this as I am trying to get out the door it's 8:05am, we leave for school to take the big boys at 8:10am. I have to get baby in car seat, clean up table, gather book bags and all the rushing around stuff that comes with the last 5 minutes of leaving.
Immediately, I stopped the hustle train. I heard what the big boys said and examined exactly what happened. Everything in me wanted to say to Kannon, "just don't do it again" and leave it be, but as he looked at me with his big brown eyes holding a Lego... He knew he was wrong. I knew he was wrong and the older kids waited to see how I would handle it.
The Holy Spirit moves me and says STOP everything. I had to correct this, even though he's only a preschooler and even though it was the day before. He knows what he did and he acknowledges he did it. I cannot let this go. I heard the voice saying you have to discipline this...ugh.. but I don't have a lot of time. The voice in my heart says, "what's more important- getting to school on time or the rearing of this child?" I am the only person who was given the job to show him how to submit to authority in this scenario. The same authority that trickles down the ladder toward submitting to God.
I had to deal with him. We go to the bathroom to get the spanking and to talk. All done in love and going over everything that happened. I tell him, he cannot be known as a naughty boy because he is a good boy. God created him to behave and the Bible requires obedience to authority (adults) and parents. I explain, God put these teachers in his life and by blowing raspberries at them it is like him blowing raspberries toward God!
This was a teacher who is an aid in another class that happened to help with line-up to go home. I had no idea how to even identify this teacher so we can go in and apologize. I had to pull up the school directory and have my big boys point her out. We did go up to her later that week to apologize, she had told me my older boys had already walked Kannon up-to her to apologize and she forgave him.
Sadly, this never would have been told to me if my older boys had not told me. Our poor teachers have become accustom to behavior that is unacceptable. We as parents need to be requiring obedience at home and at school for our teachers.
I am thankful for my old boys, my little spies. I am even more thankful for God's provision over Kannon's life and His provision over my parenting. HE leads my home and I have to be ready to be humbled in obedience for my children.
•sometimes the strong willed child, is the child we allowed to "create" a strong will right under our noses. We need to stop making excuses.
Not every little boy is strong-willed, but those who are need the most love.
{his will might be a product of how God created him, his obedience is a product of how I mother him}
Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart. Proverbs 29:17
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