chapter 5

I think the Gumnazo Principle that she brings up in this chapter is wonderful. We must work hand in hand with our children lovingly correcting every mistake until it becomes second nature for them. This is definitely time consuming and exhausting! It takes discipline and commitment on the part of the parents. We must love our children enough to train them in righteousness. Ignoring ungodly behavior and allowing them to continue to display their sinful nature is the easy way out. This parenting stuff is hard work...at least it should be hard work.

I have a story from this past weekend where Adam and I were faced with the decision to stick to our guns or give in to keep the peace. We chose to take the road less travelled and remain consistent in a slightly awkward situation. Last Friday evening we had dinner with Mandi and Howie Moseley (Mandi is part of this book club..hi Madi). We had been trying to get together for months and we finally made it out to their beautiful home in High Springs. Mandi made a delicious Mexican casserole for dinner. That day Jackson had been an extreme picky eater and had refused to eat even the things he loves (chicken strips, watermelon, cheese) saying, "This stuff is yucky!" So at lunch on Friday I knew I could be in for a difficult experience that night at the Moseley's. We arrived to the Moseley's house and Jackson helped Mandi and I finish up a few last things in the kitchen before we ate dinner. We all sat down at the table and just as I had imagined my typically polite, congenial little boy looked at his plate and before he even took one bite he said, " Me not like that stuff." Of course this is what every mother just loves for her child to say at the home of friends she is trying to get to know better. So, Adam and I had to make the decision...do we ignore this rude behavior and give into our 3 year olds demands or do we remain consistent to the rules we have established and train him in righteousness. After a few minutes of explaining to him what the dish was made of and how he really does like the casserole and fruit on his plate I finally excused us from the table and headed to the bathroom for a little chat…game on! We discussed that his actions were rude, how it could make Mrs. Mandi and Mr. Howie feel sad, and that we do not behave that way especially at someone else's house. I explained to him that if he didn't eat some of the food on his plate (not all the food just a good solid effort) that he would not get the brownies and ice cream he knew mama brought for dessert. He decided that he would do try to eat some dinner and that he would apologize for behaving rudely. He walked to the table, apologized and sat in his chair. He still did not want to eat what he was served so I told him he could go play, but I reminded him that he would not get dessert. Adam seemed to think that he really didn’t fully understand that he would not get dessert so he took him back to the bathroom for another chat. This chat resulted in blood curdling screams coming from the bathroom (he didn’t receive a spanking he just realized that he really wasn’t getting dessert). As I sat in total embarrassment at the table with our friends I was reminded that this parenting stuff isn’t easy! Thankfully Mandi and Howie were gracious and we felt totally comfortable disciplining our child in their home. We saved his dinner in case he chose to eat some so he could have dessert. However he did not make that choice and he missed out on yummy brownie and ice cream.
My point to this long story is parenting should not be an easy task, but it is the most rewarding task that we will ever be faced with.