I am one of those moms who is always a little afraid to really discipline my kids. I struggle to get my 12-year-old to do homework, and often, he doesn’t get very good grades because of it. He spends time playing video games and watching TV.
I finally came to the conclusion that I was tired of this. I told him that because his homework was incomplete, there would be no TV or video games. He got upset and stormed off, but I stayed calm and didn’t yell.
About 20 minutes later, I heard some clattering in the kitchen. Not sure what he might be doing in his fury, I checked only to find that the clattering stemmed from his taking the dishes out of the dishwasher and putting them away. He looked at me with a big smile and then came over and hugged me. I was confused, but realized that with some discipline, he actually responded by being helpful and loving. And he didn’t even ask for TV or video game privileges back. Next, we’ll tackle getting all that homework done!
Emily
I Was Afraid to Discipline My Kids