Lessons

I read somewhere that when your children don't do things that you want them to or they don't do them in a way that you want them to, it's an opportunity for "training" them to do it correctly. By training them to perform a task the right way, you will save huge amounts of time going forward, when you would have spent time correcting them or redoing their attempt. I feel like that was the wordiest, most confusing paragraph ever...

Anyway, Parker and Austin were racing around the house and Parker tackled Austin so he felt into the wall. Austin began crying, and Parker got defensive and started pouting instead of checking on Austin. We then told him he couldn't tackle Austin like that because he could get really hurt. Again being defensive Parker said, "Don't get mad at me. Stop talking to me." We responded, "We're just trying to teach you so that you can make a better choice next time." Parker then responded, "I don't want to be TAUGHT!"

I thought that was really profound. Sometimes we don't want to learn things, because with knowledge comes greater responsbility. Parker would have rather kept on playing as he was, being rough and not worrying about the consequences. But now that he knew it wasn't a good idea, next time his conscience might alert him to stop. It can be tough being accountable for things, darnit!