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By Dr James Dobson
Children feel more secure and therefore tend to flourish when they know where the boundaries are.
Imagine you're driving a car over Royal Gorge bridge in Colorado. And as a first-time traveller, you're pretty tense as you drive across.
Now suppose there were no guard rails on the side of the bridge. Where would you steer the car? Right down the middle of the road. Even though you don't plan to hit those protective railings along the side, you just feel more secure knowing that they're there. It's the same way with children.
There is security in defined limits. They need to know precisely what the rules are and who's available to enforce them. When these clear boundaries exist at home, the child lives in utter safety. He never gets in trouble unless he deliberately asks for it.
And as long as he stays in those reasonable, well-marked guard rails, there's mirth and freedom and acceptance.
This is the ingredient for raising healthy children and it's been applied by wise parents for thousands of years.
From TODAY, Voices – Friday, 02-Oct-2009
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