One of our most effective training tools has been practice. We’ve been teaching our girls how to practice good behavior since they were the tiniest cutie pies, and we’re not about to stop now!
Raising Homemakers doesn’t often include baby-training advice, but I’m so thankful that we established a positive, unoffensive attitude towards practice when the girls were infants, that I wanted to share it with you! Our work has been worth its weight in gold; and yours will be, too!
We started with the little things when the girls were young. For example, we didn’t want to wrestle them to the ground every time we wiped their messy faces, so we’d happily say, “oh, let’s practice that again!” And we’d wipe, and rinse, wipe, and rinse, until the little one understood how to behave when we wiped her face.
Or when Vivienne was pitching a two-year-old’s fit in the bathtub as I rinsed the soap out of her hair, I’d calmly say, “In our home, we don’t throw a fit when we rinse our hair. So, we’ll just practice until you can have your hair rinsed without fussing.” Then, I’d wash her hair again (using very little soap the second time through). If she would have continued to fuss, I’d calmly finish rinsing her hair, and begin a third time. She’s a smart little girl, so I only had to do this two times, until she learned how to behave when her hair is washed. Because she’s been a happy hair washer ever since, Lia’s witnessed her example and has always been a happy hair washer. (Oh, the powerful influence of the first-born!) I sure am glad we practiced the right way, right off the bat!
These days, if the girls have to practice feeding the cat, or setting the table, or winding the clock until they do it correctly, I know that we can dive right into a practice session without any of us becoming angry. Oh, sure, they might whine about having to work on the behavior, but that’s precisely why we are practicing it together: so that they can do the task correctly and happily!
As we increase our daughters’ responsibilities around our home I’m preparing to join forces with my daughters and practice their chores ahead of time so that they can feel confident and happy about their work, instead of nit-picked and nagged. For example, soon, they will be held responsible for cleaning up the school room and their bedroom at the end of the day. We’ll practice this in a fun way, by playing some music, pulling out some toys, and cleaning up exactly how I’d like the rooms to look every time. Then, we’ll pull out more toys, and clean it up again! I’m guessing that by the third go-around, they’ll want to try it on their own. And, hopefully, thereafter, they’ll know just what is expected of them, they’ll know they can meet my expectations all by themselves, and they’ll happily complete their tasks. (Or else… more practice!!)
By Laura, 10 Million Miles
Would you like to receive blog updates to your email?
