Picture by Lily "You don't have to want to do it, you just have to do it." Unknown
When I was a young mother, I would ask my children to do something and they would often reply with the dreaded phrase "I don't want to." Now, trying to be a progressive parent, I would explain all the benefits complying with my request would bestow in an effort to persuade them to do what I asked. This approach was seldom effective and the conversation often degenerated into a thoroughly unproductive and often unpleasant one.
What to do? An answer came to me one day while browsing through a parenting magazine waiting somewhere, probably the pediatrician's office. There was a page of favorite phrases and my opening quote was one of them.
Now telling children that they have to do something whether they want to or not may not be the most progressive approach, but I have found that it is a successful one. Children need to know that in life we are often faced with tasks we don't want to do but must do them none the less. Understanding this is a hard lesson, but it is an important one in the development of a conscientious and responsible individual. It also has the added benefit of ending the conversation before it has a chance to deteriorate .
Have a fun day even if you have to do something you don't want to.
Cynthia
When I was a young mother, I would ask my children to do something and they would often reply with the dreaded phrase "I don't want to." Now, trying to be a progressive parent, I would explain all the benefits complying with my request would bestow in an effort to persuade them to do what I asked. This approach was seldom effective and the conversation often degenerated into a thoroughly unproductive and often unpleasant one.
What to do? An answer came to me one day while browsing through a parenting magazine waiting somewhere, probably the pediatrician's office. There was a page of favorite phrases and my opening quote was one of them.
Now telling children that they have to do something whether they want to or not may not be the most progressive approach, but I have found that it is a successful one. Children need to know that in life we are often faced with tasks we don't want to do but must do them none the less. Understanding this is a hard lesson, but it is an important one in the development of a conscientious and responsible individual. It also has the added benefit of ending the conversation before it has a chance to deteriorate .
Have a fun day even if you have to do something you don't want to.
Cynthia
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