Friday, October 5, 2007

i am absolutely baffled by this whole discipline thing. malachi is becoming more and more his own individual and is pushing the limits and boundaries and i feel as though i am completely confused at how to best discipline.
i was spanked as a child and don't see it as wrong however i am constantly toying with how and when that should be used. it is funny to me how you can talk to 20 different moms and get 20 different ideas for how to deal with the misbehavior, whether is be time-outs, flicks, simply redirecting or something else.
i thought the first year of malachi's life was so easy, though i got very little sleep. all i had to do was focus on bonding, loving, caring for, etc. it is so exciting to see his little personality developing and yet it's scary cause my responsibility as a parent is so much weightier.
i would love to have a candid discussion with a group of moms to really dive down into the topic of discipline, but is that even possible? i find that to be one of the most touchy of subjects with very strong opinions on every side.
and frankly there may not be just one answer. we are all very different human beings. but it sure would be nice for there to be a book that could give you the right way to handle every disobedient infraction.

3 comments:

sandy igo on October 15, 2007 at 4:50 PM said...

I often wonder if a person's personality type determines his or her view on "spnaking" In the teaching profession, we saw far too much abuse. There is such a fine line between "spanking: and abuse. The frustation level of the parent allows them to cross this line too often. Glad to see that you are keeping an open mind on this issue. Love ya, Aunt Sandy

Gwen on October 21, 2007 at 9:27 PM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gwen on October 21, 2007 at 9:36 PM said...

There is a great book that will answer a lot of your questions called "Shepherding the Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. I am loaning my copy out right now or I would let you borrow it. It is pro-spanking but only when done in the right context and at the right age(i.e. not in anger, with prayer and forgiveness, only for direct defiance (reasons change with age), etc.). The main idea of the book is not that we as parents try to find a way to control our child's behavior, but to address their heart, which affects their behavior. In other words, we as parents don't need to be personally offended by our child's disobedience because really they are disobeying God, not us. Everything points back to God and what he would have the child do. It is not a confusing book at all and is a very easy and quick read.