Matthew 18:6 says, " But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which
believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the
sea."
Sadly, there has always been child abuse in the world.
Our children are going to misbehave, make wrong choices,
have accidents, spill things, break things, etc... We need to correct their behavior, help them
to clean up messes, and sometimes take away privileges. However, there is never a time when abuse is
warranted.
If you need to calm down before disciplining your child,
then either send them to their room or go to your room for a while. Then come back or have them come out when you
are more calm.
Personally, I believe in starting the discipline at
around 3-6 months of age, or whenever they start understanding the word,
"No.", which is pretty early in life.
If they do something they shouldn't do, tell them, "No.". If they understand you, but they do it again,
give them a quick, firm slap on the hand or thigh, remove their hand from
whatever they're doing, look them in the eye and say, "No.". When my son was little, that usually got his
attention and helped enforce the "No.".
Little ones are smarter than they look. They understand more than we think they
do. They certainly understand what
"No." means at a very early age.
If they need to be removed from whatever is causing them to
misbehave, then pick them up and move them, or move the item of interest.
Be the parent. Don't
let their cuteness or whining prevent you from being firm and sticking with
your decision. Don't let them tell you
"No." Don't let them squirm
away from you if you are holding them back from doing something that you told
them not to do, or if you are in the middle of talking to them, and they are
trying to go back to doing what they were told not to do, or if they are trying
to get away so that they don't have to listen to you. Make them sit and listen. Teach them to respect your authority.
This will save you so much trouble in the future! If they learn early that they need to listen
to you and respect you, then when they get to be 3, 4 and 5 years old (and
beyond), they will already know what is expected of them.
If you need help figuring out how to discipline a child,
then pray to Heavenly Father for help. He
will help you decide what to do.
When your children learn to discipline themselves and to
obey authority, they will grow up to be happier people than if they do not
learn those things.
My suggestions above are mine alone. I am not speaking on behalf of the Church
that I belong to.
May we turn to our Heavenly Father as we attempt to interact
with others and accomplish all that we need to do.
O.K. -- Now to lighten things up a bit -- Here is a video of
a little girl dancing in a competition.
I love this kind of dancing. It's
called "Lyrical dancing".
Enjoy!
Click on the link below:
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