I Cross MY Heart
I Cross My Heart! We often use the phrase honesty is the best policy but how to we get our children to actually believe it? Children have a natural tendency to respond to situations in whatever way necessary to avoid punishment. While raising my kids I always reiterated that if they were honest with me up front there would not be a punishment but there may be a consequence. For example: if someone broke a window and they came and told me about it they may be responsible for helping financially with its replacement; they would not, however, be grounded, lectured, etc. for coming forward and being truthful. If a child makes the decision to come to their parents and be honest about something that is difficult to admit and they are met with immediate anger and punishment, they will be less likely to choose to handle a situation like that again in the future. They will quickly realize that if they can hide their mistakes they may also be able ...