Dirty, Rotten Liar
My son is going through one of my least favorite phases: a lying phase.
"Did you put away your dinner dishes?" I ask as he comes running outside.
"Yes!" He runs past me and jumps on the trampoline with the rest of the kids. I go into the house a while later and see the dishes on the table.
"Go put your dishes away. Because you lied to me, you can't jump on the trampoline again tonight." I get busy weeding my flower bed. After a while I look up to see my son on the trampoline. Turns out he told daddy that I had said he could go back on after all.
"Because you lied again, you wont get any of the lemon cheesecake we are having for dessert."
"Mommy, I wont lie next time we have lemon cheesecake." He says as he watches us eat our dessert.
Not exactly what I was going for, but it's a start. At least he was acknowledging that there was a not-so-fun consequence for his actions. However, the next evening he lied to me about clearing his dishes AGAIN. He had to go to bed early that day. He was feeling pretty rotten as he changed into his jammies to the sound of his siblings still playing outside.
I was frustrated with him, but I pulled him in for a snuggle. I just held him close to my heart for a few moments. It was what he needed. He went to bed and was fast asleep shortly.
Because we all mess up. And God is so faithful to forgive us when we blow it.
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There are still consequences for our mistakes. Some are pretty heavy. But they are meant to teach us something.
My four-year-old will probably struggle with truth telling for a while (judging by his past and personality). It will be pretty frustrating, and (honestly) hurtful at times. But if we stay consistent and don't let him get away with it, we will get through it. And we will have instilled an important value in his person.
God bless you, mama. Keep up the good fight!
Lee
"Did you put away your dinner dishes?" I ask as he comes running outside.
"Yes!" He runs past me and jumps on the trampoline with the rest of the kids. I go into the house a while later and see the dishes on the table.
"Go put your dishes away. Because you lied to me, you can't jump on the trampoline again tonight." I get busy weeding my flower bed. After a while I look up to see my son on the trampoline. Turns out he told daddy that I had said he could go back on after all.
"Because you lied again, you wont get any of the lemon cheesecake we are having for dessert."
"Mommy, I wont lie next time we have lemon cheesecake." He says as he watches us eat our dessert.
Not exactly what I was going for, but it's a start. At least he was acknowledging that there was a not-so-fun consequence for his actions. However, the next evening he lied to me about clearing his dishes AGAIN. He had to go to bed early that day. He was feeling pretty rotten as he changed into his jammies to the sound of his siblings still playing outside.
I was frustrated with him, but I pulled him in for a snuggle. I just held him close to my heart for a few moments. It was what he needed. He went to bed and was fast asleep shortly.
Parenting is such a balance, isn't it? We want kids to regret their wrong choices and learn from them, but we don't want them to feel like they are a terrible person because they mess up. It really hard when they are going through a lying phase, because you never know when to trust what they are saying!
Because we all mess up. And God is so faithful to forgive us when we blow it.
There are still consequences for our mistakes. Some are pretty heavy. But they are meant to teach us something.
My four-year-old will probably struggle with truth telling for a while (judging by his past and personality). It will be pretty frustrating, and (honestly) hurtful at times. But if we stay consistent and don't let him get away with it, we will get through it. And we will have instilled an important value in his person.
God bless you, mama. Keep up the good fight!
Lee
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