THVP: What the Lord Showed Me

Last week I talked about how parents, and adults in general, have the assumption children should “know” things that they logically can only be taught.

I told you about a situation I had with my son with this same assumption in mind (click here to view article).

What the Lord showed me through that experience.

After having time to reflect on that situation, I realized that I had never told him that he could not write on the window. How could he possibly know that he was not suppose to do that if I never told him.

The window is on the wall but it is not a wall, it is a window.

As an adult it seems obvious to us that we should not write on a wall; so, we should not write on a window. But that is because we have been taught to problem solve and think beyond one situation. A child’s brain is not developed enough to do that yet. It is our job to teach them those skills. Problem solving is something that we have learned from years and years of experience.

So, the question is…how do I handle these types of learning experiences now?

That is exactly how I handle them; for learning.

I could have handled the window writing much differently. I could have said, “I love the picture you drew can you tell me about it?”.  And then, explained to him that next time he should draw on paper so we could keep it and hang it on the fridge. Also, I would explain to him that we do not write on windows but it is ok because he did not know.

One point that I feel is very important to make is that I NEVER use the word “naughty” (or any other word like that) to describe my son. I will never use that word to him or other people… and I will explain “why” in my next article.