"Tell me, I'll forget. Show me,
I'll remember. Involve me, I'll
understand."
- Chinese Proverb
This gem of a quote really applies
to parenting.
Let's say your son Bobby does
something "bad". Here are a few
ways you can react...
- The "Tell me" way
"Bobby, no yelling! Go to your
room!"
- The "Show me" way
"Bobby, stop yelling! You hurt my
ears! Go to your room!"
- The "Involve me" Way
"Bobby, we don't yell unless it's
an emergency. Yelling hurts Mommy's
ears. You don't want to do that, do
you?"
Catch my drift? ;-)
In our kids martial arts classes,
we do a whole lot of the "Involve
me" Way. We don't have many rules -
but we're very disciplined about
sticking to them.
We teach kids WHY each rule is
important. We've found that when
kids understand the logic behind a
rule...
They're WAY less likely to break