A post I wrote back in September 2008 about doing your best out of fear triggered a reflection on the difference between disciplining your child versus teaching your child discipline.  My husband and I feel strongly that we do not want to discipline our child in the sense of saying no to everything we think she shouldn’t do.

Of course, there are always situations that will warrant a no, but we hope they are an exception.

A Small Example

For example, when it comes to food, we don’t want to have to tell our child what to eat and not to eat.  Rather, we want her to be able to know how to discipline herself and make a good choice depending on the circumstances.  So this means that at home or at regular dinners, she will make healthy choices with little treats here and there, and that at exceptional events, like weddings and parties, she can enjoy all the junk food with a clear conscience.

In this context, she won’t do her best out of fear that she will hear her parents thundering “no”, but rather she will know what to do to make the best of the situation.  She will be both healthy in her daily habits and be able to make healthy exceptions that might weight heavily on her stomach but be delightful for her spirits.

Now the question is, how to achieve this…

A New Series

{ Sahar’s Blog is all about being in a constant state of learning.  So it only made sense for me to go back to all my previous posts and see how my thoughts on certain topics have changed over the last nine years.  In this new, ongoing series of posts, I’ll be rereading some of my older posts and reflecting on the same topic in light of what I’ve learned since then.  It’s going to be very interesting to see how things have changed! }