One of those things that I have seen A LOT lately is delayed disobedience. If they don't listen to me immediately, then I consider it disobedience. Yes, they might eventually listen, but I am really try to work on an instant response.
If I say, "come here," I want them to come here now.
If I say, "look at me," I want them to look at me now.
If I say, "eat your lunch," I want them to take a bite now.
If I say, "sit down," I want them to sit down now.
Get the picture? I don't want to say it twice and and I don't want to say "now," it should be implied.
It's a slow process, but we're getting there. They are toddlers after all, so I have to remember that when I expect immediate results. :0)
Is anyone else in this stage of parenthood, or does it last forever? I'm sure teenagers could still be guilty of "delayed disobedience," but I'm hoping to drill it into their little heads now. It's much easier to make a toddler sit than a 6 foot teenager that could sit on you! And I'm sure I would have a hard time making a 100 pound child come to me instead of picking up my 20 pound 2 year old to make my point!
Any thoughts on delayed disobedience? Any tricks you could share?
good luck on immediate obedience when they're 6 ft. they're pretty good at *not* coming immediately at that point! :o) anyway...
ReplyDeleteLucien used to do 'boot camp.' We still do at times when things are out of control and really--I think we're nearly do. Basically, for a few minutes in the evening, he'd pick a child, say come here, child is supposed to say--Yes, Sir and come immediately. If not, the child goes back and forth a bit or does some other simple task until he/she realizes the point. :o)
Hey Nicole, you are such a good mom! Working on this issue is exhausting. I remember when Ruth was a bit younger, it seemed we had several "final" battles about quick obedience. I thought I had her trained pretty well, but then I had to go through this long, tiring spell of being 110% consistent, almost "retraining" her to obey. I second LynAC's comment about "boot camp." We did "drills" with Ruth on obedience, and it worked. Just, essentially making them practice until they develop a good habit of obeying quickly. Consequences are also effective. I try to keep a smile on my face, while being swift about taking away something that is near and dear to the offender.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, don't get discouraged when you feel like your putting in tireless effort but not getting results. Keep at it, results WILL come!! And pray!! I'm in a pretty "good" stage of obedience right now, but I'm sure the "testing phase" will return again. You're doing a great job, you're girls are very sweet! (and Jack too!) Love ya!