I have seen many children (nieces/nephews, friends’ children, etc) act out to seek attention, and test just how far they can push their parents in order to get their way with sometime. With my adopted children, I have seen the same thing.
However, at times, I can see it in their eyes (and even heard it in their words), that the testing is more of they type where they are trying to determine whether we really love them, whether we’ll still be their parents, or whether, like in the past, they will be moved to a new home/family if things don’t work out. They are testing whether they can trust us to be their forever families.
With the losses they’ve experienced in their lives, it is paramount that while disciplining the behaviors, we also ensure our children that we love them and that we will always be here for them. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to explain to one child that we discipline her because we love her.
We go back to the Bible with the command to parents in Proverbs 6, 12, 15, 23, 29, Ephesians 6, and Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12:11 was a memory verse that went along with a devotion for Kaylen at one point.
1 comment:
Lisa,
I still contiually say to Saul , I will always love you Ijust do not like what you are doing right now and that his actions need to change. He is usually a very loving little boy but when something happens that makes him nervous he pulls away and closes up, usually he will tell me what he is thinking and we can get on with our day. He says hurtful things to me and when we doing get to the bottom of it I do ask for him to say he is sorry.
I say to him you know that Momma loves you ! Then I touch his head and his heart.
God Bless,
Rose Anne
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