this evening
This evening we made a home for a stuffed Flo the Fly in the cubby of Evan's headboard. We colored pictures and taped them to her "walls," gave her a small stuffed dog, a blanket, and everything a stuffed fly could want. When Evan wouldn't eat his dinner, Shaun snatched Flo from the table when Evan wasn't looking, (she ate dinner with us, too,) and we told him she flew away because he wasn't eating- it worked! He ate all of his broccoli quiche!! When he got out of bed after lights-out, I told him Flo would have to sleep with me if he got out of bed again. He listened- the lights stayed out!
Only later did it occur to me that maybe this isn't the best technique. It might breed nervous behaviors, or an unhealthy understanding of doing things to get your way- "legalism"- or of doing things to keep your friends happy- "peer pressure." But that's parenting for you- there seems to be a positive and negative possibilty that might stem from every discipline tactic created. We're the ones learning by trial and error and there's so much head-scratching I should start lotioning my scalp. However, when I was reading Evan's new and first Bible to him in bed tonight, covering creation and the flood, I realized that if God is big on discipline- if He sees it fitting and character-building, "nuff said." Right?
But then the question was never "to discipline or not to discipline" for us- the question was HOW.
