Discipline and Older Children #066

The third and final week in a series about discipline. We discuss ideas for leading our "older kids" (from mid-elementary to middle school) through coaching, imploring, and responsibility.

1. Coaching: As our children age, we move from more of a focus on keeping rules towards having the discernment to figure out what is right. "We parents are in the adult-making business after all...” - Ron Lieber
   
   
2. Imploring: Earnestly showing our children what is right and good, and vulnerably engaging with their and our emotions along the way. Teaching them what we want for them and what we want and expect from them.
   
   
3. Responsibility: Offering the dignity of giving our kids responsibility for their growth and development.

During this series, we focus on the heart of discipline, but here are some practical resources for the "how to's" of disciplining your children lovingly: 

• "Don't Make Me Count to Three" by Hubbard
• "Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus" by Fitzpatrick and Thompson
• "1-2-3 Magic: Gentle 3 step Child & Toddler Discipline for Calm, Effective, and Happy Parenting" by Phelan
• https://connectedfamilies.org
• "Parenting with Love and Logic" by Cline and Fay
• "Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids" by Hunter Clark-Fields

Plus, a Christmas Tree-related Stat of the Week. By the way, if this time of year gets you down sometimes, you may be encouraged by listening to two podcasts we recorded last year about how Christmas can make us sad from time-to-time:

• Christmas Makes Mommy Sad - Part 1 (#016)
• Christmas Makes Mommy Sad - Part 2 (#017)

As always, thank you for listening! We hope you enjoy this episode, and if you do please take a moment to share the podcast with a friend who might be encouraged by this conversation or who just needs a good laugh at our expense.