Mom could pull the toy from the hands saying, “If you boys can’t play nicely with the truck we’ll just put it up on the shelf for a while.”
Or she could say, “Time out. Andy to that chair,” pointing, “and Bobby over there. Two minutes to pull yourselves together.”
Or she could say, “Snack time. Here are some carrots. Let’s read that book we brought from the library.” And after snacks and stories she could ask the boys, “Do you still want to play together?” As they nodded yes, she continued, “What are you doing in the sand box?” The boys showed her how they were building a fort, hauling sand from the corners to the middle of the box using the truck. Then they started each wanting to drive the truck but Mom interrupted. Bobby why don’t you drive the truck to get the sand and Andy can drive it to where you are building the fort? Then you each get to drive.” And the work began.
Wanting her children to be able to deal with conflict, following the Peace Testimony as she interpreted it, this mother chose her third option, a very early step in being able to live according to the testimony, knowing how to take turns.
Are you ever at a loss as to how to deal with a child rearing situation? Have you ever considered using the testimonies as guides to help you decide?
With this article we are starting a series examining how the Testimonies can guide our parenting.