It took about an hour tops to get him to quit fighting and pick up his books. Then we had a big party! There were high fives all around and we played Micah's favorite game- Ring Around The Rosie. Then, once we were out of the house, we kept reminding him of what a good job he did and giving him hugs and high fives. I picked up a tip from Dr. Dobson that we used, too. It involves making sure little ears are listening when you tell your spouse something good about them.
So, several times when we were driving in the car Terry or I would say to each other, "Did you see Micah put all of his books up? That was so great! He did such a good job!"
I think (*hope*) it worked. The last two days he's been cleaning as he goes much better and he's been agreeable when we ask him to put his books away.
Hopefully it was just one of those things you have to go through to prove you're serious when you give instructions. Dr. Dobson says this is the age when they begin to test you. How serious are mommy and daddy? Will they really follow through? Can I trust them?
If listening to some whining for 60 minutes is what it takes for Micah to trust us, to know our word is good, well then I guess it's worth it and I'm glad we stuck it out. (No matter how many of you think we were harsh! ;)
"The unexamined life is not worth living." -Socrates
3 comments:
I think yall did a great job! Man I have a lot to learn!! ;)
Yeah great job!! Once again, let me say I am NOT looking forward to that stage!
I don't think you were harsh at all. My parents didn't mess around when I was little and to this day I'm glad for that. Who knows what I might be trying to get away with if they hadn't done that.
Thanks for sharing with us!
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