I picked my ten year old up from school the other day and I could tell that things didn’t go his way that day. As we started the drive home he suddenly made a comment about a “friend” that wasn’t very kind. I knew I couldn’t let it go, so I launched into one of my Mom speeches. I have been doing this for 23 years so I had a lot to choose from. I told my son that just because you don’t agree with someone you don’t need to tear that person down. You can simply choose to play with someone else, play alone or maybe even try and understand where that person is coming from. My son contemplated this for a little while and then said “isn’t it sad that Mr Obama and Mr McCain’s mom’s didn’t teach them that rule.” I realized right then that the television set need to be turned of until after the elections.
One of the trickiest thing about parenting is practicing what you preach. I am sure my child could have put my name in there just as easily as Mr Obama’s or Mr McCain’s.
Tags: children, communication, conversation, learning, parenting, Relationship, Relationship building, training
