Parenting is HARD
I love language. I love talking. I love dialoguing. But I am completely unsure what to do when a child is too young to truly access any of those.
I know how to love and serve and play. But how do you tell a 2 year old to not hit when they can't/won't listen and the problem may be a deeper one anyhow? And when disciplining like time outs seem to be counter-productive, ie, they make him more angry and resentful rather than calm and remorseful?
It feels as though when I am robbed of words, I have no tools, and that's a problem when you're a parent. It's frankly why I dreaded my calling in church to the nursery. I ended up liking it, mainly because that's where I learned to play and enjoy time with the little kids, and I didn't have to worry overmuch about whether they truly understood me. I didn't have to teach them life lessons and love them simultaneously.
Argh. I don't like feeling this stuck.
I almost want to fast forward to age 5, and then go from there. I hear parents complaining about the teenage years, but I am pretty darn excited for them - just think of all the neat things I'll be able to do with my kids by then! It's these pre-language years that are killing me.
I know how to love and serve and play. But how do you tell a 2 year old to not hit when they can't/won't listen and the problem may be a deeper one anyhow? And when disciplining like time outs seem to be counter-productive, ie, they make him more angry and resentful rather than calm and remorseful?
It feels as though when I am robbed of words, I have no tools, and that's a problem when you're a parent. It's frankly why I dreaded my calling in church to the nursery. I ended up liking it, mainly because that's where I learned to play and enjoy time with the little kids, and I didn't have to worry overmuch about whether they truly understood me. I didn't have to teach them life lessons and love them simultaneously.
Argh. I don't like feeling this stuck.
I almost want to fast forward to age 5, and then go from there. I hear parents complaining about the teenage years, but I am pretty darn excited for them - just think of all the neat things I'll be able to do with my kids by then! It's these pre-language years that are killing me.