My children often amaze me! As a parent it's easy to ignore just how much our little ones are growing and understanding.
My Noah is 18 months old. Yesterday, I caught him engaging in pretend play on two different occasions, once by putting a toy cat in the back of a truck and making it, 'go' and once by raising the arm of sisters doll repeatedly up and down and saying 'hi, hi'. Seeing this probably shouldn't have surprised me but it did. I know my kids are little geniuses :) but I still forget how fast they can learn!
Noah has been saying "thank you" when given something since he was a year old. Now he also says 'wecome' when he give something to us. He actually says quite a few things and lets me know when he wants to eat, nurse, hug, go somewhere, etc..
I'm not saying this just to brag, although I am not opposed to bragging on my munchkins, but to bring out something that struck me as interesting.
A 12 week old puppy can be trained to hold his bladder and pee outside, sit, stay, come, walk on a leash, fetch, be quiet and many other nifty manners and obedience. Now if a dog can understand and learn from a human being, why in the world do parents seem to assume that their babies cannot? I mean, a dog doesn't speak English but can still learn what we want through demonstration, so why do so many people wait until their kids speak clearly to start training them?
Everywhere you go you can easily see 'wild' untrained children. Some are small, like Noah, and some are much older. I have seen 4 year olds running wild around church auditoriums while the preacher is trying to teach! I've seen 7 year old's throw themselves on the floor and cry like babies because they didn't get what they want. Then there's the typical behaviors ignored as 'normal': whining, ignoring their parents commands, yelling (for attention or out of anger), screaming (EVERY time you go to Wal-mart you hear one or more), pulling away from parents hands, running away, shoving, climbing on furniture, grabbing everything in sight, kicking..... you get the picture. All things that I have personally taught small puppies not to do in a matter of hours or at most,days! (O.K., you can change the kicking to biting for the puppy :). )
Anyway, my intent isn't to just insult the majority of American parents but rather to bring attention to the great potential in our children. It is never to early to teach our children obedience and mannerly behavior. Every day that parents ignore or accept bad behavior is still a day of training,.. training them how to be wild, ill mannered and unsettled.
It is sad and an insult. We are created in the image of God and treat our children as less intelligent than pets.
My children are certainly not robotically obedient. I have to guide and correct all of them consistantly. I don't want my children to spend their days silently sitting on the couch, hands on laps and afraid to speak. My children are encouraged to sing, play and dance! But when it's time to listen or be quiet they must know how! I definitely know of children that are better trained than my own and that is another reason why I want to remind myself of these facts!
All children are geniuses and will learn what they are tained, whether good or bad.
"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left [to himself] bringeth his mother to shame." Proverbs 29:15
Proverbs 29:17 "Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul."
My Noah is 18 months old. Yesterday, I caught him engaging in pretend play on two different occasions, once by putting a toy cat in the back of a truck and making it, 'go' and once by raising the arm of sisters doll repeatedly up and down and saying 'hi, hi'. Seeing this probably shouldn't have surprised me but it did. I know my kids are little geniuses :) but I still forget how fast they can learn!
Noah has been saying "thank you" when given something since he was a year old. Now he also says 'wecome' when he give something to us. He actually says quite a few things and lets me know when he wants to eat, nurse, hug, go somewhere, etc..
I'm not saying this just to brag, although I am not opposed to bragging on my munchkins, but to bring out something that struck me as interesting.
A 12 week old puppy can be trained to hold his bladder and pee outside, sit, stay, come, walk on a leash, fetch, be quiet and many other nifty manners and obedience. Now if a dog can understand and learn from a human being, why in the world do parents seem to assume that their babies cannot? I mean, a dog doesn't speak English but can still learn what we want through demonstration, so why do so many people wait until their kids speak clearly to start training them?
Everywhere you go you can easily see 'wild' untrained children. Some are small, like Noah, and some are much older. I have seen 4 year olds running wild around church auditoriums while the preacher is trying to teach! I've seen 7 year old's throw themselves on the floor and cry like babies because they didn't get what they want. Then there's the typical behaviors ignored as 'normal': whining, ignoring their parents commands, yelling (for attention or out of anger), screaming (EVERY time you go to Wal-mart you hear one or more), pulling away from parents hands, running away, shoving, climbing on furniture, grabbing everything in sight, kicking..... you get the picture. All things that I have personally taught small puppies not to do in a matter of hours or at most,days! (O.K., you can change the kicking to biting for the puppy :). )
Anyway, my intent isn't to just insult the majority of American parents but rather to bring attention to the great potential in our children. It is never to early to teach our children obedience and mannerly behavior. Every day that parents ignore or accept bad behavior is still a day of training,.. training them how to be wild, ill mannered and unsettled.
It is sad and an insult. We are created in the image of God and treat our children as less intelligent than pets.
My children are certainly not robotically obedient. I have to guide and correct all of them consistantly. I don't want my children to spend their days silently sitting on the couch, hands on laps and afraid to speak. My children are encouraged to sing, play and dance! But when it's time to listen or be quiet they must know how! I definitely know of children that are better trained than my own and that is another reason why I want to remind myself of these facts!
All children are geniuses and will learn what they are tained, whether good or bad.
"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left [to himself] bringeth his mother to shame." Proverbs 29:15
Proverbs 29:17 "Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul."
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