Nothing bothers me more as a parent than to hear an adult encourage kids to “be sassy”. As if this is a trait to be admired! Many adults find disrespectful talk hysterically funny – especially from the mouths of young children. Of course, laughter just encourages the “sassy” child to continue speaking disrespectfully in hopes of getting more “positive” attention.
Unfortunately, “sassy” speech can quickly become a bad habit. Your sweet child will sound increasingly mean and disrespectful as he or she grows older. By then, it will be much more difficult to correct the speech patterns and attitudes that have developed. Even sarcasm, often considered the humor of the intelligent, is thinly veiled contempt – another form of “sassy” speech. We know God wants our children to speak in ways that are loving, kind and respectful. How can we train them to speak the way God wants them to speak to others?
It’s definitely easier to train or disciple your child in any godly behavior when you can count on other adults to reinforce what you are teaching them. Even if you don’t have that support system though, there are things you can do at home to move your child towards more godly speech.
Here are my six favorite tips:
If you have more than one child, you have probably experienced your share of sibling disagreements. They may seem minor enough now, but the sibling relationship can become so battered, it eventually dissolves. Siblings are going to disagree. How you help them handle their conflicts is critical.
Want a formula for childhood misbehavior? Let’s plan a month when they don’t get nearly enough sleep, feed them tons of sugar, drag them all over the place, make them sit for hours in the homes of relatives they barely know…and leave their presents at home they have been asking for since…forever.
Helicopter parents. Tiger moms. Laissez faire parents. Free range parents. It seems like every time you look up, there is some new type of parenting. Most of these end up doing more harm than good for the long term development of kids.
We all like to think our children won’t bully anyone or even be ugly to others. Yet, it’s often the parents of the bully who are the most surprised when they learn of their child’s behavior.