We thought we were such wonderful parents as the “terrible two’s” passed in our house with only a whimper. That is until the “awful three’s” hit us with a vengeance. We were determined to follow the best parenting advice we could find and remain firm and consistent in our discipline. It wasn’t so bad the first couple of weeks, but when the weeks dragged on into months, I was getting weary.
It seemed like my conversations with our daughter were beginning to sound like I was a parrot – squawking “no,no” and “don’t touch” over and over again. I knew the training was imperative (It really is true. After this period we only had minor episodes for the rest of her childhood. We haven’t had to give consequences to our now delightful seventeen year old college student in literally years.), but I was tired of the negative tone our house was beginning to have on some days.
I stumbled upon the idea of teaching obedience in positive ways as well as using correction and consequences. Why not help your children understand the importance of obeying? If they can grasp the concept, obeying your rules and ultimately God’s rules will be so much easier.
There are actually quite a few fun ways to begin to teach your child why it is so very important they obey you – the first time you give a command – and do exactly what you tell them to do it. Here are a few of my favorites: