Lemony Webbles

notes from the middle of applying new knowledge

We're working on praising the kids right away for all the good things they do this week. We've got a list a page and a half long of all the instructions for how and when to use praise to help the kids. Guess it's pretty important. I knew that, I'm sure, at one time or other, but that's the kind of thing that gets lost along the path of living with a child that has defiance issues. The power of the positive (or substitute 'Word of God' for 'positive' and you have a similar phenomena) to create and bring out new virtuous behaviors and just change thoughts and habits, is truly a remarkable and beautiful thing to behold. I think we're making progress, though we still have the same issues every day- kind words (especially first thing in the morning) and peaceful bodies, keeping our temper when we are hungry or tired or overstimulated. It seems to be a big part of being human to grapple with these issues, but in this household, with some extremes of personality, these issues loom large every day. When they go well, there is peace and moving forward and doing fun things together. And when they go badly, there is fighting and sadness and chaos and stuckness. I don't know if being vague here is really absolving me of the feeling that I'm backbiting somewhat, but it's hard to know how to talk about parenting problems when they come up. I will say that I'm giving this effort to help our family get on the right track my all and that that feels really good, in a very fundamental and tapping into spiritual power kind of way. It's a God thing to try hard for your kids.