pithy codification
 

I don't spend a lot of time codifying principles to transmit to the six-year old Great BEAST of the Apocalypse but three I repeat often...


-Make do with what you got.

Example: the toy in your hand is pretty much the same as the new and improved model advertised on the TV...make do with what you got, BEAST!


-Be patient.

Example: yes, we're goin' to the park, but not for another hour...be patient, BEAST!


-Don't overcomplicate it.

Example: no, you don't need the hand-truck to move one, empty, box...don't overcomplicate it, BEAST!


The above three are, it seems, codifications bubbling up from natural circumstances that happen often with me and the BEAST.

Any of you parents/caretakers have similar, naturally occurring, codifications, peculiar to your circumstances?

No one said "Life is Fair"

'life is not fair'
 

Yeah, that's a good one...the BEAST seems to have a natural handle on that one so I don't have to say it much (not like the three listed above, anyway).

Don't leave clutter where you might trip over it. Seriously. It's lazy and dangerous. Especially get that crap off the stairs. BEAST!

not pithy enough?

Keep your attention in the present moment. BREAST!

Glatt,

I'd say, pick up your mess, BEAST!


Jim,

I'd say, pay attention, BEAST (or, pay attention to the BREAST!)!

What exactly are you trying to achieve?

What can we do to make what you have even better than the "new and improved" version you (don't) see on TV (because we hippies don't watch shit like that)?


"this is what we have to do before we go to the park. it's going to be a while -would you like to make a checklist of the shit we have to get done first/why don't you get lost in a book and we can set an alarm so you know when it's time to stop reading and go."

using the handtruck is fun. Is it hurting anyone? BE PATIENT, guardian ;)

Life isn't fair is the only one you need.

Other than that, you need tenets for guardians, not kids.

1) Chill FFS. You were a kid once, you made it, it can't be all that hard
2) They learn nothing if you tell the what to do and/or how to do it ...unless they ask

I struggle with this one.

"What exactly are you trying to achieve?"

Conversation rather than debate (for a change).

Sure as shit wasn't lookin' for a lecture.

*shrug*

That's what I thought too.

You should've started a thread about having blue stripes on pink submarines and how that made you feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel. Or something equally boring as shit.

It's getting so I can't even hate the world in peace. :right:

"...blue stripes on pink submarines and how that made you feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel..."

HA!

"Fair means everyone gets what's appropriate, not everyone gets the same thing."

"You have to tell your side of the story calmly, or no one will listen."

"Our goal as a parent is to give life to our children's learning--to instruct, to teach, to help them develop self-discipline--an o rdering of the self from the inside, not imposition from the outside. Any technique that does not give life to a child's learning and leave a child's dignity intact cannot be called discipline--it is punishment, no matter what language it is clothed in."

Barbara Coloroso
(the only parenting advice I ever give or recommend)

Clod,

I philosophically disagree with the *first, but the second is nice...I'd say, 'calm down, use your words'.


Ocean,

The quote is good...if I were talkin' to myself (in a mirror), I'd say, 'don't cut the brush for him, teach the BEAST how to use the machete, then hand it over to him'.









*'fair' is a rainbow...pretty and inspiring, but just light and mist...dazzles the eye, wets the skin and then it's over

age appropriately of course

*grins* 6 yr olds and machetes could be a bad choice - falls under the "illegal, immoral, or dangerous" categories of parental intervention, depending on the child's skill levels