My son is a CIT at a local day camp here. After the first day of camp, he complained, \u201cMy campers just don\u2019t listen! It is really hard being a counselor!\u201d<\/p>\n
All parents know this feeling. There is nothing so frustrating for a parent as when their kids do not listen to them. When we are home with our kids in the summer, it seems worse.<\/p>\n
We all know that kids have found lots of ways to disregard their parents and their directives.<\/p>\n
Sometimes kids will ignore their parents:<\/p>\n
Parent: \u201cHello, Earth to Sam, I asked you 10 minutes ago to put away your book and set the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes kids might forget:<\/p>\n
Parent: You were supposed to take the garbage out today before you left for camp!\u201d<\/p>\n
And sometimes kids might defy:<\/p>\n
Child: \u201cYou can\u2019t tell me what to do! I won\u2019t clean my room!\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though we might get angry at our kids and rightfully so, this is the time that we need to be most patient and encouraging. It is at this time that kids need to believe that we have faith in their goodness and that they have the ability to do what they are told.<\/p>\n
Many times when kids don\u2019t listen we reinforce their role as a non-compliant child. We might say \u201cYou never listen!\u201d Kids believe what they are told. They might think, \u201cMy Dad said I don\u2019t listen, I am not a good listener, so why should I even try.\u201d If they are a more independent kind of kid, they might think, \u201cI will show them, if they think I don\u2019t listen now, they should just wait. It is just going to get worse. I am never going to listen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is why we need to be kind and encouraging. When we show confidence in our kids they start to develop confidence in themselves. They might not be able to do what we ask right away but we want to send the message that down the line they have it in themselves to listen and to be an active, productive, contributing member of the family.<\/p>\n
We want to encourage our kids. To the child who ignores, we can say:<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cSam, I need you attention. It seems that you didn\u2019t hear me the first time I asked. I know that this time you can close your book and to set the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
To the child who forgets, we can say:<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cI know you forgot to take out the garbage, but I also know you will figure out a way to remember next time.\u201d<\/p>\n
To the defiant child we can say:<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cI know that you rather I not tell you what to do. In this family we work together. I know you will figure out a way to clean your room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Encouraging kids by showing we have faith and confidence in their ability to listen comply and obey can go a long way in creating a positive environment in our homes. It will also help by fostering emotional health in our children. It can even work if you\u2019re a CIT in a summer camp. It might even get my son\u2019s campers to listen to him!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My son is a CIT at a local day camp here. After the first day of camp, he complained, \u201cMy campers just don\u2019t listen! It is really hard being a counselor!\u201d All parents know this feeling. There is nothing so frustrating for a parent as when their kids do not listen to them. When we<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":720,"featured_media":36823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\n