Last night was promising to be a good night. My wife was out with friends and my son and I settled in for some Monday Night Football. He is just getting the hang of watching footy with Dad and I was looking forward to some 'boys bonding'. Things were going great (despite our team losing badly) until it came time for bed. I suggested that it was time for stories at 9pm (he normally goes to bed at 8pm but it was a special treat to stay up with Daddy). This suggestion was met with howls, screaming and crying. I tried again a little more firmly, same response but this time he was swinging at me too.
I decided to leave it for 10 minutes and then try again. The tantrum was escalating with screaming and crying. My next course of action was to send him to his room to which he reluctantly obliged. I realised that this wasn't going well and wondered if it was due to a change in the bedtime routine. My wife usually does the bedtime routine as it gives them time together to read stories and play. I thought about what was going on here for about 10 minutes and then in walked my son head down. He approached me, climbed up and said quietly 'sorry Daddy', gave me a hug and a kiss. I then asked if he wanted a bedtime story and he said 'yes' and we went to his room for a seamless bedtime routine.
It was a really nice way to end a boys night in.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Shaping their character - a scary thought
We were having lunch with some friends recently and the conversation turned to parenting and the comment was made that a key responsibility of parenting is shaping the childs character. This really struck a chord with me as I have been trying to figure out the major roles of a parent and this is a huge deal. I was struck by the responsibility of molding a little character.
As I was thinking about this I realised that the job of shaping a childs character starts from day 1. You are the childs reference point for the world. My son is right into copying at the moment. This can be a source of great fun but is also a bit scary as I am not sure if I would want someone copying my behaviour and using that as a manual for life. However, it is the reality that kids learn from watching their parents, whether the parent is aware of not
As I was thinking about this I realised that the job of shaping a childs character starts from day 1. You are the childs reference point for the world. My son is right into copying at the moment. This can be a source of great fun but is also a bit scary as I am not sure if I would want someone copying my behaviour and using that as a manual for life. However, it is the reality that kids learn from watching their parents, whether the parent is aware of not
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