Three Es of Love and Logic
As each holiday season begins, it is always important to help your kids truly understand what it means to be thankful. If you are like me, you probably have heard yourself say something like, “You should be thankful for the things you have! When I was a kid….” All of us experience “skill slippage” from time to time: Yes! Even us Love and Logic guys have had our not-so-great parenting moments!
Do our kids really learn life’s most important lessons by being lectured? Thankfulness, like just about everything else, is only learned via the Three Es of Love and Logic.
Example
Do we show our kids how thankful we are for what we have, or do they see us grumbling and complaining about what we don’t have?
Kids need to witness us being sincerely thankful for the air we breathe, our health, making it home from work without having a car accident, the food we have, the water we drink, and the family we have.
Experience
Giving kids everything that they ask for can lead them to always expect to get whatever they want. Although we certainly don’t advocate depriving kids of the things that they need, will they ever experience true thankfulness if they are given everything that they want without having to wait or work for it?
Empathy
Parents who use anger, lectures, threats, or punishment to coerce their children into being thankful, will find that they create resentment and rebellion instead.
Parents who demonstrate their genuine empathy and love as they allow their children to learn sometimes uncomfortable lessons about humility and thankfulness, are far more likely to raise kids with an attitude of gratitude.
Be thankful and enjoy your kids this holiday season!.
This is from Love and Logic Insider’s club by Dr. Charles Fay
Blessings on your week and worship.
Michelle Gerlach, Family Life
