Training Life Skills in our Children
Whenever I hear a conversation going on between any of my children that sounds like it might have an unpleasant tone to it, I Ioiter about nearby in case I need to interrupt and give them guidance in how to respectfully solve disagreements. My girls were talking in their room this week and I couldn't quite make out the tone so I popped my head in the door.
"Mom, blah-di-blah-di-blah-di-blah!" said one daughter.
"But, Mom, totally blah-di-blah-di-blah!" said the other daughter.
(Well, that's what I heard anyway! Little people don't always make a lot of sense.)
While I couldn't follow the logic of either of their arguments, I could help with the universal language of tone of voice. I encouraged them to finish their discussion while making sure to treat one another with honour and love.
I left them with a lesson my husband has taught me in our marriage. Saying, 'I'm sorry,' doesn't always mean you're wrong. Sometimes it means you value relationships above being right.
It is a joy to me to get to help my children to grow in their emotional intelligence. What a privilege to be involved in helping our children develop into who they will be. As parents, we have a hand in their friendships, in their marriages, in their parenting. The skills we coach them into will teach them how to interact with the world. A simple skill like knowing how to humble yourself and apologize, irrespective of the facts, for the sake of relationship, may just save my daughters' marriages one day. May the privilege and responsibility of parenting our children excellently lay heavily on our shoulders while we go about the mundane of the 'day-to-day'.
