Parenthood and a whole lot of Prayer
My kids have been a little crazy the last week or two. My first thought is that I need to give them more individual attention. While I have tried to put forth a little more effort, it seems that every moment something or someone needs me, and it can be more than a little discouraging.
I spoke with a few moms at church today, desperate for some new ideas on discipline. If you are ever struggling with your kids, it sure makes you feel better knowing that you are not alone trying to stay patient, and that it is okay to ask for help or ideas! It is also humbling to see the trials that other mothers have.
We all know that our children our different, and that they have different needs. This means that as mothers, we need to figure out what discipline works best for our children. The frustrating thing can be that what works for one child, might not work for another. I have continually wished that my children would have come with a manuel. But they do come with a sweet spirit, one that we can have revelation to know how to care for. Sounds easy, but it takes a lot of work! Somedays are just hard, and it seems like I am figuring myself out at the same time!
A mother of five, that I really respect, told me that during some of her most difficult times, the only thing that she could do to get through the moment was to stop and pray. I was so touched by her honest, and personal testimony that prayer has helped her when everything else seemed out of her control. As she told me this, I remembered many instances when this had also been true to me. The line of a hymn rung in my mind, "cast your burdens on the Lord."
This week I had an experience where three of my children were crying at the same time. We had the stomach bug going through the house, and Dad had church and work obligations, and I was running out of patience and energy. This was a frustrating experience, and while I have had many times like this, I know that there will be more. I have decided to make a list of ways I can distract my children when they are fighting, instead of rushing them to time out (which lately has not been working for my son). I also decided to make a behavior chart with a reward system. I love charts, and they really work for my kids. I have tried several, and usually as soon as I see improvement I stop doing them. Which, this is fine with me, as long as I continue to see the benefit =). I have also determined that I am going to try to be close to the Spirit when it comes to discipling my children. There is no one that knows what my children need better than the Lord.
I spoke with a few moms at church today, desperate for some new ideas on discipline. If you are ever struggling with your kids, it sure makes you feel better knowing that you are not alone trying to stay patient, and that it is okay to ask for help or ideas! It is also humbling to see the trials that other mothers have.
We all know that our children our different, and that they have different needs. This means that as mothers, we need to figure out what discipline works best for our children. The frustrating thing can be that what works for one child, might not work for another. I have continually wished that my children would have come with a manuel. But they do come with a sweet spirit, one that we can have revelation to know how to care for. Sounds easy, but it takes a lot of work! Somedays are just hard, and it seems like I am figuring myself out at the same time!
A mother of five, that I really respect, told me that during some of her most difficult times, the only thing that she could do to get through the moment was to stop and pray. I was so touched by her honest, and personal testimony that prayer has helped her when everything else seemed out of her control. As she told me this, I remembered many instances when this had also been true to me. The line of a hymn rung in my mind, "cast your burdens on the Lord."
This week I had an experience where three of my children were crying at the same time. We had the stomach bug going through the house, and Dad had church and work obligations, and I was running out of patience and energy. This was a frustrating experience, and while I have had many times like this, I know that there will be more. I have decided to make a list of ways I can distract my children when they are fighting, instead of rushing them to time out (which lately has not been working for my son). I also decided to make a behavior chart with a reward system. I love charts, and they really work for my kids. I have tried several, and usually as soon as I see improvement I stop doing them. Which, this is fine with me, as long as I continue to see the benefit =). I have also determined that I am going to try to be close to the Spirit when it comes to discipling my children. There is no one that knows what my children need better than the Lord.
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