About 10 years ago when I was young and pregnant and foolish, I went on a road trip with my husband from Florida across the south to California and up the coast to the tip top of Washington. We were moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Whidbey Island, Washington because my husband was being stationed there by the Navy.
At the time we had a substitute child in the form of a very cute, yet very stubborn beagle. We took him along with us. By day 3, he would strain against us and try to run away so that he did not have to get back into the car. He felt he had a voice in the situation, that he was actually allowed to resist.
After day 5, he realized that he was not going to win. Admittedly it was a little sad. We broke him. I am sure that he was convinced that everyday for the rest of his life, he would have to be trapped in that car all day long. He meekly allowed me to set him in the car, laid his little head down and sighed.
I learned a good mothering principle. Sometimes you just have to break your kids in to unpleasant truths. I try to give my kids as many options as I can. We work really hard to give them a voice and allow them to be who God created them to be. On some things though, there can be no compromise.
For us, we travel a lot. We have had to break our kids the same way we broke the dog. There is no whining, no fussing, no crying. Just get in the car, read your book or go to sleep. Those are the only choices. I just refuse to be trapped in a car with poorly behaved children.
It is a good principle for even more important lessons though. There are just some things in life that we will not compromise on. We will be kind and loving people. We will speak and act respectfully. If you do not give in on these things an inch, they will not have the opportunity to take a mile.
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