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Welcome to the KingZoo and Funny Farm, where we learn to live, laugh, and love together. Here you'll find snippets of life in our zoo, parenting tips we've learned along the way, reflections on shining God's light in this world, passions in the realm of orphan care, and our journey as parents of a visually impaired child with sensory processing disorder. Have fun!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Self-control

So many parenting responsibilities could be narrowed down to one virtue: Self-control. Of course, our kids aren't the only ones with this problem, right? I, for one, have my own self-control issues. But I like to believe that on this journey called life I am a little farther along than my children. And that it is my responsibility to teach them self-control so that they can be healthy, can get along well with others, will be productive adults, and above all, God-honoring in all they do.

That said, I decided to combine our Fruit of the Spirit staircase with the consequences jars and (hopefully) drive the message of self-control home. So the "I blew it" jar gained a new slip of paper: Sit on the Self-control step and write 5 sentences about how self-control could have helped you in this situation.

And then I waited. Sure enough, the seven-year old "blew it" this morning and had to pick from the jar. "Mom," she said with the slip of paper in her hands and a confused look on her face, "What is 'self-control'?"

Funny you should ask. So after our discussion, and after her imposed writing assignment, I had this fine essay to chuckle over:

"I cud of yoused self-control by not saying I am gowing to be as selfish as I can. I was mene and I shood not be mene. I have lernd that I need to be kinnd. Evry one has to have self-control. Now I no that you need self-control."

Thank you, Eden, for such a splendid discourse on self-control. I just may print this out to hang on my wall as a little reminder to myself.

1 comment:

  1. I got a big laugh out of your post! Eden is so right. Everyone has to have self-control. I love it!

    ReplyDelete