As a parent, you know the drill…is it an excuse or is it a reason? We parents don’t like excuses. It tells us that kids don’t want to take responsibility and that’s the first step to a damaged life. An excuse is an attempt to lessen blame. A reason is an explanation, but is also the power of the mind to think and form judgments.
As parents, we are the first and most powerful of our children’s teachers. Our focus should be on teaching and not blaming. The focus should be on the “what” and not the “why”. People find it easier to explain “what” than “why”. Who can describe the nano-second analysis of our motivations and intentions? Just exactly WHERE does that get you as a parent?
Take advantage of these events to teach effective problem-solving. They’re kids…they’re PUCs...people under construction. We're PUCs...parents under construction. Help them learn.
We're all just doing the best we can, Claudia
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