“You’ve got to be kidding me, the sink is still full of dishes!”
We came home from our meeting late that night and the one thing that I asked wasn’t done.
I’m not gonna lie, I was livid. I told my four daughters that before I got home from the meeting the only thing I really cared about was that the dishes got done. I checked to be sure each one heard me and understood.
I didn’t want to wake up to a sink full of dishes first thing tomorrow morning. I’m not a night person so doing the dishes in the evening is just not gonna happen for me.
I was so angry that I knew I could not talk to my kids about it right then. I quietly went to my room and got ready for bed. I had to pray and ask God to help me cool down and know how to talk to them appropriately about this.
I knew better than to talk right then; I’ve messed this one up before!
Sometimes the best thing we can do for our children is to hold our tongue.
I’m taken back to that old movie I saw when I was five years old when Thumper said, “If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all.”
Sometimes that’s really great advice for us parents. If you can’t talk to your children about the rules they’ve broken, the ways they’ve let you down, or an expectation that hasn’t been met, in a kind, gentle, loving tone then don’t speak at all. Our words should edify, encourage, and uplift our children even when correcting takes place.
Wait until you’ve cooled down and God has given you the grace to speak the right words in the right tone at the right time.
You don’t wanna say something you’ll regret later. And you certainly don’t want to say something that will affect your child’s mind negatively for years to come.
So in those moments when you’re so frustrated and you know you won’t be able to control what you say.
Don’t say anything at all.