A special hello to those checking out my blog from the Proverbs 31 Devotion. Today's post is about wisdom based parenting. Not that I am claiming to be a wise parent. Just every now and then, God grants me just enough wisdom to handle a certain situation. Today's example is about me learning to admit when my child is actually right. If you'd like to leave a comment, click on the word "comments" below.
Last weekend at the beach I was officially the sunscreen dictator.
You know the drill: "Okay kids. We have pasty white skin. We have a bright sunny day. We have deceptively mild temperatures that will make us think we can stay out all day and not get burned. But don't be fooled young grasshoppers. That sun that feels so blissfully safe will blister the fool out of you. So lather up! Lather up! Lather up good!"
Basically it was an invitation for my teenagers to apply the least amount of the lowest SPF available.
Like any good mom I kicked into the second part of the drill after a few hours in the sun: "Time to reapply. Oh, I think you are getting red. Oh you might really want to coat that area extra well. I'm serious I think you need to use a higher SPF. Okay, but if you burn, I don't want to hear about it. I'm not kidding, I think you are going to be sorry. Not a peep when you have to sit out the rest of the trip soaking in aloe inside. Not a word...okay? Did I mention I think you are getting burned?"
And that was basically an invitation for the teenagers to tell me that something funny was going on with my sunglasses as they were absolutely positive they were most certainly not getting burned.
Let's just say there is a reason I am called Mom and they are not. Later that afternoon the third part of the drill happened while digging the aloe out of the bottom of my suitcase. "One day you'll learn that I actually do know what I'm talking about. When I say you need sunscreen- when I say you are getting burned- when I say you'll be soaking in aloe the rest of our time here- you should listen."
It would have sufficed for me to simply stop there. Point made. The consequences were speaking so loudly that I really didn't have to say another thing.
But with each complaint about how painful a sunburn is, I just couldn't stop myself. I just had to play that "You should have listened to your mama" record again and again and again. Finally, Hope stopped me when she quietly said, "Mom, I've learned my lesson. Please stop saying how you were right and I was wrong. I mean, just think how you would feel if someone followed you around for a whole day reminding you of your obvious mistake."
It stopped me dead in my self righteous tracks. Sometimes the wisest choice a parent can make is to stop talking and really listen. She was right. I wouldn't want someone reminding me all day of my mistakes. I carefully took her sunburned body into my arms and apologized.
And then I handed her the sunscreen with an SPF of 30... and we both smiled. Well, okay, she rolled her eyes. But inside I know she was smiling.
Last weekend at the beach I was officially the sunscreen dictator.
You know the drill: "Okay kids. We have pasty white skin. We have a bright sunny day. We have deceptively mild temperatures that will make us think we can stay out all day and not get burned. But don't be fooled young grasshoppers. That sun that feels so blissfully safe will blister the fool out of you. So lather up! Lather up! Lather up good!"
Basically it was an invitation for my teenagers to apply the least amount of the lowest SPF available.
Like any good mom I kicked into the second part of the drill after a few hours in the sun: "Time to reapply. Oh, I think you are getting red. Oh you might really want to coat that area extra well. I'm serious I think you need to use a higher SPF. Okay, but if you burn, I don't want to hear about it. I'm not kidding, I think you are going to be sorry. Not a peep when you have to sit out the rest of the trip soaking in aloe inside. Not a word...okay? Did I mention I think you are getting burned?"
And that was basically an invitation for the teenagers to tell me that something funny was going on with my sunglasses as they were absolutely positive they were most certainly not getting burned.
Let's just say there is a reason I am called Mom and they are not. Later that afternoon the third part of the drill happened while digging the aloe out of the bottom of my suitcase. "One day you'll learn that I actually do know what I'm talking about. When I say you need sunscreen- when I say you are getting burned- when I say you'll be soaking in aloe the rest of our time here- you should listen."
It would have sufficed for me to simply stop there. Point made. The consequences were speaking so loudly that I really didn't have to say another thing.
But with each complaint about how painful a sunburn is, I just couldn't stop myself. I just had to play that "You should have listened to your mama" record again and again and again. Finally, Hope stopped me when she quietly said, "Mom, I've learned my lesson. Please stop saying how you were right and I was wrong. I mean, just think how you would feel if someone followed you around for a whole day reminding you of your obvious mistake."
It stopped me dead in my self righteous tracks. Sometimes the wisest choice a parent can make is to stop talking and really listen. She was right. I wouldn't want someone reminding me all day of my mistakes. I carefully took her sunburned body into my arms and apologized.
And then I handed her the sunscreen with an SPF of 30... and we both smiled. Well, okay, she rolled her eyes. But inside I know she was smiling.
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