N is for Next Time

Dear Moms,
How many times have you heard a mom say, “The next time you do that, you will be punished.” or How many times have you heard a mom say, “The next time you say that you will be punished.” If you heard them say it more than one time, it is more than one time too many, they should be saying it, in my book. They are on the right tract, however. I believe a mom should always give a warning, especially to a preschooler. In fact, that is the next key word on the topic of discipline, for the letter N….NEXT TIME.
Always give a warning, one warning, not two not three, not etc. Your child is smart, in fact, he or she is a genius. They will quickly learned to obey, one step before the punishment is given. So if you warn two times, they will obey after two times. I wanted my children to obey on the first time. You would often hear me say, when I was parenting my seven blessings from God, “YOU NEED TO OBEY ON THE FIRST TIME, I AM NOT GOING TO ASK YOU AGAIN, YOU WILL BE DISCIPLINED.”
I did believe in giving a warning. Why ? If Johnny doesn’t know that it is a spank able offense to smash cheerios in the rug, he will be shocked and offended by the spanking. The warning makes it clear of the rules, especially for toddler who forget the rules if not reminded daily, and sometimes hourly. When warning a child I would stoop down to their level look them right in the eye, eye ball to eye ball. I would hold their little face if necessary. This even works for teenagers. The second part of the equation is that after warning them once and stating what the consequences would be if they did not obey, I would follow thru on what I said. Remember, A mom needs to be consistent. Rules need to be the same every day. A mom needs to be a woman of her word. If she says it, she has to do it. There is safety and security, for a child in being parented by a mom who gives one warning then acts righteously to follow thru. Anything short of that is just an empty threat. Children will quickly learn if you are a follow thru mom or not. A woman of her word raises confident children. What happens if you are not a follow thru mom? YOUR CHILDREN TEST YOU…..SOMETIMES ALL DAY LONG. You see they just want to see how far they can go before you mean what you say. A follow thru mom raises children who obey on the first time. Do you want obedient children or testers?
What do you do if you have spent most of your motherhood, warning and not following thru? You sit down with your children and have a heart to heart talk with them. You say, Mommy has been noticing that things are not going so well around here, there are going to be some changes made. First off, I will give one warning them I will discipline you if you do not obey. Once you have made the new rules clear there will be a time of testing, I promise you that, however you will bear good fruit if you are consistent. Scripture says, LET YOUR YES BE YES AND YOUR NO BE NO.” It is never too late mom. You will be doing your child a tremendous favor to train them up in the way of the Lord. IT IS God‘s command to us.
It is very important, mom, to only let your children play at the homes where you feel comfortable with the discipline and the rules, as well as the parenting skills. My children mainly played at my house. They preferred it that way. We had the kid friendly house as well as the fun house. I made sure of that. If my children wanted to play at a friends house, you could be sure that I knew the parents well and what kind of environment I was letting them go into. Mom take this very seriously, you cannot be too cautious in today’s society. Check it out carefully. There may be more than over warning going on there and it is your job mom that your child is safe at all times. If you have a check in you spirit, It may be the Holy Spirit sending you a Red Flag. Yes, the Holy Spirit give warnings as well as Moms. Just like our child needs to heed our warnings, we must train yourself to heed the warnings of the Spirit of God. Pray that your heart be in tune with God’s heart and that you too mom have ears open to obedience. God’ s Word is lamp unto our feet. God’s Spirit is our guide thru this life here on earth. Take God’s hand. Follow along the path He has Chosen for you to walk.
That’s all for today I have an exercise class. E-MAIL ME ELLEN. wwwmomsbestwisdom.com