This evening as I'm getting ready for worship, I notice my toddler/shadow bustling around the room mimicking me as I speed around trying to get us dressed and to the church on time. She's running from one end of the room to the other, grabbing and moving things as she flies around.
When she gets a spanking, she continues to whack herself after I'm done. For the record, apparently my child isn't phased by spankings at all. My hand's sore afterward but she's just fine, smiling and wondering why we stopped. So we'll initiate Plan B: Time Out.
Mati goes almost everywhere with us. I tell her to "stay" whenever we get out of the jeep. Elayna also sticks her hand out and tells Mati to "stay." And recently, she's also started telling Mati "aus," the command for "leave it, let go." (Okay, so not only can my kid spell, she knows her left from right, and can speak another language. Not really, but just go with it.)
Are you catching my drift? I'm gonna really have to start checking myself to be more aware of the behavior message I'm sending Elayna. I don't want her to think our theme song is Alabama's "I'm in a Hurry" or that spankings are fun or that-- well... she is the boss of the dog. That one's okay. My point is that I need to really watch my own behavior. I want the quality of my parenting and example to improve the character of my child.
Do you parents (eeooch, oochie, itchies) have advice about this? I know language is a biggie. I don't think we have much of a problem there. Is there anything else you've have to modify or stop or really think about?
