More Unique Rules For The Home
Here are a couple more unique rules that I found interesting – and applicable to my own situation – in the article from CNN that I talked about in the last post.
I can’t understand you when you speak like that
Goal: Stopping whining, screaming, general rudeness
This one requires almost religious consistency of application to work effectively. But, essentially, you simply proclaim incomprehension when your child orders (rather than asks) you to do something, whines, or otherwise speaks to you in a way you don’t like. Whispering this helps; it takes the whole thing down a notch on the carrying-on scale. This is a de-escalation tool, so calmly repeat the rule a few times and don’t get lured into raising your voice. A child who’s whining or being rude is clearly seeking attention and drama, so use this as a way to provide neither.
I think that this one will really work – even with adults.;) More often than not, when someone starts whining, grumbling, or demanding rudely, the tendency for me is to strike back. The result is often disastrous, with the situation escalating to something that is harder to control. I think I shall try stating this in a calm manner: “I can’t understand you when you speak like that.”
There’s no such thing as boredom
Goal: Prevent your child from saying “I’m bored”; teach her to entertain herself
A friend of mine says this is one of the few things he got right with his kids. The first time his older daughter claimed she was bored he simply denied that the thing existed. Now he sometimes adds: “There’s no such thing as boredom, only failure of the imagination” or “…only mental laziness.” Surprisingly he’s never gotten the “There is too boredom!” argument, only an exasperated “Da-ad.” Regardless of the phrasing, the result is the same: The burden of amusement lands directly on your child, which is precisely where you want it.
If you think about it, this statement is so true! There is no such thing as boredom as there are countless things that a child can do. He can read, he can clean up his bedroom, he can listen to music, and so on. What would be limiting is his imagination and creativity and by “forcing” him to use these, you would actually be helping your child.
Any other quirky rules of your own?
July 29th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
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July 30th, 2008 at 3:39 am
Those are really good tips. More importantly they are tools that parents can arm themselves with. I bet it works with significant other too!