Kids on the coast

I have four children, three boys and a girl. You might have even seen them on the Today Tonight show last month. There I was minding my own business when all of a sudden I had national television calling me up about discipline! You see, I run an online mentoring program for parents, and somehow one of my emails got into the hands of the media. Bad news if you don’t want to be made a big fuss over...
So before I knew it there were cameras at my house and film crews everywhere asking me about a specific event at our house. It’s one thing to give out a consequence to your child, but quite another thing to talk about it on national television! The media said my daughter had been ‘kicked out’ of her bedroom and the headlines said “Mother evicts daughter”. Now how do you think that made me feel?
At times like these, we need to have the big picture in mind as a parent. For me, the big picture was that gratitude is one of our core family values. Our family likes to appreciate our possessions and because we are so grateful we take care of them. I teach my children when they leave toys and clothes all over the floor they are being disrespectful because I work hard to earn the money to buy those things.
Becky and I had talked over several months about what would happen if I kept on standing on toys and clothes whenever I walked into the bedroom. We had agreed together that if Beck couldn’t keep her room a little bit tidy, she would have to move out of the bedroom and sleep in the corner of the lounge for a few weeks to learn to appreciate what she had in the first place.
All child behaviour experts say ‘follow-through’ is extremely important. Beck and I had made an agreement so I followed through on a consequence. No-one likes to see their child sleeping on the floor in the corner of the lounge, but I need to remember the big picture – I am teaching my child not to take her bedroom and possessions for granted and that makes it all worthwhile. Some of life’s lessons are hard to learn, and others are just as hard to teach.
I believe everyone who raises children deserves a medal. We don’t need others to put us down and comment in negative ways about what we do with our children. We need cheering squads, not firing squads. So I cheer you on…