Treat Children Like Guests (Not As Suspect)

[@judyweigand3254]

Love all that you have to say. Lucky kiddos to be in school with you!

[@MontessoriEducation]

🙏

[@pam6676]

I love this. To treat my child in my home like I would treat a guest was something I constantly, constantly had to remind myself of when my son was little. Well, not just when he was little but as he got older too. I remember so often when my kiddo would do something that annoyed me, made me angry, heck, made me want to tear my hair out I would tell myself breath, breath, respond don't react, respond don't react. Of course I wasn't always successful. One memory stands out as a time I responded the way I wished I could have always responded. Matt was about 3 and was bringing me an egg, I was cupped in his hands and he was trying to be so careful. But, yeah, it happened. He dropped the egg and said, "Fuck!". I looked at him somewhat stunned and he looked at me wide-eyed and waiting. As I looked at him it occurred to me that the use of that word in that situation (I'm sure many people won't agree with me) was just the right use of the word. So I said something like, " Hey, let's clean that up and get another egg." He relaxed, I relaxed and we continued with our cooking adventure. For me, as was much of parenting, it was a new way of interacting with my son and it took practice. And yes, we had a talk (one of many) about words, the use of certain words - when and when not to, where and where not, etc. But to treat your child as you would a guest makes for such pleasant, friendly and respectful interactions. Thank you for this podcast, Jesse.