Elyce at Home

My son sums up the Golden Rule by saying:

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

I think that is a pretty good “sum up.”

But when it comes to kids, especially our own, we can run into sticky territory. 

I would like to say that I always treat my children the way that I would like to be treated, but then I would be struck down by a bolt of lightning.

I have great aspirations, but I run into “Mommy mode” where things just need to get done…right now.  I want the hair brushed, the teeth brushed, the showers taken, the shoes on, the homework done… right now, with no questions asked.

I was thinking about it this morning.  If someone came into my house and started ordering me around, I would start to get a bit snippy and probably down-right mad.  Just like my kids seem to be when I order them around…hmmm. 

But I don’t always get treated the way that I would like, either.

I read all sorts of parenting books when my kids were small.  I read books about using “the rod,” books about only using positive reinforcement, and everything in between. 

Here was my litmus test, the question I wanted answered when I picked up one of these parenting books…

What do I do when my child is screaming “NOOOO!!!” at the top of her lungs after I let her know it was time to get her shoes on so we can go to Mommy’s appointment?

“The rod” book had an answer, but it didn’t seem to follow the Golden Rule. 

I tried getting down on their level and talking with them, but I am now savvy enough to realize that you cannot reason with a 3 or 17 year old.  And they don’t give a flip about my need to be somewhere anyway.

I am still looking for my answer.  Maybe during this People Skills Unit at www.FiveMinuteLifeLessons.com it will come to me, because I am learning even as I am putting the unit together.

But I do know that even if they don’t treat me the way I want to be treated, I need to be the model (and the grown-up).  Bummer!

Filed under: Life Lessons on January 18th, 2009