Back in July I saw this downward spiral for H of putting his needs first and neglecting to even consider what others may or may not like. I wrote about it here. Here are a few training ideas that we did.
1. Started making TV an earned privilege, one of the areas where he earned TV time was when he showed extra grace toward Bug. I have a heightened awareness of how easily the bad attitudes and habits of characters on TV rub off on my kids. So all TV watching is being highly scrutinized around here.
2. Put together a Mommy/ Daddy CD/ playlist for him of verses and stories related to the Golden Rule or putting other's needs first.
3. Talked lots and lots about how he would like to be treated.
4. Asked him often, "Was that looking out for your needs or the needs of others?
5. I started talking out-loud as I was making decisions to show H what it looks like to really consider and think about the needs of others. "Daddy, will be home soon and he sure likes the house clean. I am going to spend the next 15 minutes picking up because I know that will really make Daddy happy."
6. Memorized together Philippians 2:3 "in humility, consider others better than yourself." To really help this idea soak in we added hand motions. My hope is that at the playground or from across the room, that I won't have to verbally remind H to consider others, but that I can do 4 quick hand motions and remind him. (idea stolen from Hally, who learned it from Rebecca)
Consider
Others
Better Than
Yourself
7. We started praying specifically that H could be aware of the needs {and preferences} of others, and that he will have the humility to put their needs first. (Okay, so need to echo this prayer for myself)
We are still working on this, and probably will be for years to come!
Great ideas!
ReplyDeleteSoon I'll be writing a blog post and saying that I got the idea from K, who got it from Hally, who got it from Rebecca. :)
I think half of parenting is looking in a mirror and realizing that you need just as much training as your little one does. At least I know I felt that way with teaching, have yet to experience that with J.. but I know it's coming!
Love ya!
Just reviewed this post and it is exactly what I need to work on with Miss Em. I like the hand symbals for a reminder of the verse....fun and nice to not have to verbally remind them!
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