It’s the balance between the positive and the negative that provides the benefit. To illustrate, if you place the cable on the positive pole of a car battery, nothing happens.Then take that cable off the positive and put it on the negative pole. There’s still no electricity. But what happens when you hook up both the positive and the negative poles? It’ll curl your hair, if you have any left.
Understanding the interaction between these two forces is very useful to the task of raising children. There’s a time for affirmation, closeness, tenderness and love.
That’s what nourishes the spirits of our kids. But there’s also a time for correction and discipline and even occasional punishment. Mums and dads who try to be eternally positive, ignoring irresponsibility, defiance or selfishness in their kids, will deprive their kids of the benefits of correction. But those who are oppressive and accusatory can also create serious behavioral problems.
So what is our goal as parents? It’s to balance the positive and the negative, making sure that the cable is hooked to both poles of the battery.
From TODAY, Voices - Tuesday, 03-Aug-2010
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