Greetings
Dear Reader,
I adopted
this practice after my children were grown and enjoy it thoroughly. I think one of the toughest things to balance
in being out and about is feeding a child’s wonder and keeping them under
control. I see children all the time in
stores whose parents are either too overwhelmed or too inattentive to keep them
from acting out.
What I look
for is the opposite. One of the things I
do is notice children who are polite and kind.
Especially pleasing is when a second or third grader needs to get past
you and says “excuse me please.” I am
always prepared for such an event.
First I
respond to the child and then I approach the parent. In front of the child I thank the parent for
the politeness and commend them on instilling it in children at a young
age. I am always amazed at how well this
goes over. Parents have to work to train
their children to be polite. When they
are successful they should know it. I
urge you to take the time to share this success with parents. Very few will and it means the world to them.
Wishing you
joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So
Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of
Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new
and old things from his great treasure store."
Posts
what a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI generally would praise the child in front of the parent. Makes the child feel that much more grown-up about their behaviour, and still shows the parents that they have done a good job. Nothing makes a kid smile like saying "That was very helpful!" or "I'm very impressed with the way you did that."
ReplyDeleteWorking at Wally's for years, I would often ask children to do me little favours while I checked out their family, like carrying a small bag or putting something in a cart, and they always would. I would make sure to thank them very sincerely for it, and they would just beam with pride. Best of all, it worked to remind all parents that their child would appreciate the opportunity to do something helpful. Even little kids know that praise should come with accomplishment, and look for ways to show that accomplishment.
It is really great practices for our children to see however i believe that we should all have this sprit in our hearts the whole year ... and then so will our children be able to see the goodness in people and not just the factory department setting of it doesnt matter how naughty you all all the rest of the year, Santa wont come if you are naughty right at this moment, in this season ... lets show them the goodness and sprit of people all the year long....
ReplyDeletewe know that you do this ... but it is a good message through out the year