SAYING YES TO CHILDREN

In this day of two-working-parent families, time constraints make it easier for us to automatically respond with a "no" when our children ask for little things. Solution: In an article published in Better Families, Dr. Kay Kuzma offers some practical approaches we can use. She suggests we can say "yes" on many occasions, and it's more effective because it also teaches valuable lessons.

For example, your child might ask, "Am I going to get to watch my favorite television show tonight?" You have a chance to say, "Yes, as soon as you have dried the dishes and put them away," or "Yes, as soon as you have called Sally and apologized for your behavior this afternoon."

This approach changes you in the child's eyes from being a person who wants to deny him or her a pleasure to a parent who is interested in helping the child perform in a better, more mature way.

Your teenager might ask to use the car to run a few errands. You can say, "Yes, as soon as you wash it and if you will stop by the service station and fill it with gas on your way home." This way you're teaching your child responsibility.

Dr. Kuzma also points out that when a child asks, "May I have dessert?" you can say, "Yes, as soon as you have finished your salad or vegetables." This way you are attaching a small reward to a fulfilled responsibility. The child ends up with the temporary pleasure and some long-term benefits.

Practice Dr. Kuzma's suggestions and you will have taken a giant step toward raising a positive, courteous, responsible child.

by Zig Ziglar

Lesson From A Sea of Milk

I recently heard a story from Stephen Glenn about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?

He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor—a veritable sea of milk!

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, “"Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”"

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "“You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?"” He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.

His mother then said, “"You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.”" The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!

This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn’t work,” we usually learn something valuable from it.

Wouldn’t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert’s mother responded to him?

—Jack Canfield

Resignation As An Adult

To all my friends,

I hereby officially tender my resignation as an adult. 

I have decided to accept the role and responsibilities of a six-year-old boy. 

I want to eat at hawker stall with kerosene lamps and think of it as it is a five-star restaurant. 

I want to drink ice-cream soda and think of it as the most expensive wine.

I like to move a stick across the sky and see a jet in flight. 

Two sticks in flight and I will have a dog-fight.

The same stick that slides across the muddy puddle will be my Chinese junk.

Then I like to submerge it to become the super submarine that will send chills to all navies.

I like to make stones to skid on water and end their journey with a splash.

I want to run in the rain and swim in the mining holes.

I want to play football with rubber balls and cardboard boxes.

I want to paint with my fingers and eat with my hands.

I like to catch rainbow fish from the drains and lie with my puppies on the front porch.

I want to think that keropoks are better than cash and roasted peanuts better than coins.

I want to return to the simplicity of the kampung and listen to roosters at the breaking of dawn.

I like the village where I can leave my doors open with no fear of robbers or thieves.

I like the spicy aroma of freshly fried kangkong and the fragrance of the smoky kitchen. 

I want to roll on my mama's bed and bite the corners of her pillows.

I like to draw beautiful sketches on the walls and run to hide when mama comes.

I want to leave all the wars, prejudices, injustices, abuses, hungers. diseases and sufferings behind.

I want my Savior to gather me into his arms and say, "Come to me, my child. I love you to come stay with me forever."

Today, I am six again!

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:14-16)