Stew Is Not Stupid Soup

Last night, Sienna was about to call me "stu-pid," I gave her a straight look in the eye. Quickly, she went all smile, "Stew, it's the soup, Mommy, the soup..." I didn't show her that I was amused. But I did let her get away with it.

This made me think about something. Teaching a kid morals or self-discipline is like cooking stew. You cannot accomplish it in 5 minutes. The heat has to be somehow mild, consistent and constant. Therefore, patience on the parents' part is required.

A kid goes through different phases. At 4 years old, it might be simply fun to be naughty and mean. Let them have the chance to be bad once in a while. As much as possible, let them take their own course to become good. You don't expect to solve all the problems in one battle. I DO make sure every time I show her clearly where I stand and what I think it's right and wrong. If the circumstances don't allow me to make my point clear (like last night when she managed to outsmart me), I would rather pretend that I didn't hear or see. Stew is being cooked...

I somehow have faith in Sienna that she won't grow up calling people names and backtalking to me. Time will come. It takes time, just like making a pot of stew. And I love cooking!