Discipline & Young Children #065

This is our second week in a series about discipline. We take on the early years (say, under 8) and focus on three words that describe how to think about the challenge  of leading and teaching our young children: trust, ordinary, and extraordinary.

1. Trust: In the early years, it is so important to build trust with our children. They need to hear the straight truth from us. They need to know we are the authority, that we love them, and they can trust we will direct them well (as well as we can).
   
   
2. Ordinary: Discipline is not an event, it is an ongoing, everyday, ordinary thing. This takes the pressure off to do it right because there is always a chance later today to encourage, implore, and teach your children. Also, remember that discipline involves correction, but it also includes the encouragement of the positives your kids are doing. 
   
   
3. Extraordinary: In the ordinary, we can do the work of non-common actions that will make all the difference.  These are:
   1. Wasted time.
   2. Gentle, positive physical touch.
   3. Clear directions and acknowledging their feelings. Long-term goal: developing an internal compass.
   4. Re-dress your child. Let them know they were made for more!

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

The Stat of the Week is all Thanksgiving travel, dinner, and turkeys.


Sorry, we have some mic issues this week so the sound is a little softer than usual.


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.