Adult language and four letter words?!

Yep, I’m more determined than ever to instill some REAL adult language and choice four letter words into my kid’s vocabulary. (and prayerfully their mindset)

Have I lost my mind? Nope, I have made the conscious decision to use it for good! (by the way, good is a four letter word)

When did the world stop “adulting”? When did parenting become a negotiation partnership? Who determined “no you can’t have that, go there, do that…” bad parenting?

I work from home and prefer it that way, but every now and again when I’m out in the world, I always come home shocked or appalled by what’s going on out there.

People who work in public should not be…
texting or posting,
talking to others about how much they had to eat or drink last night,
who showed up or didn’t, then look at you (for the first time) and share they can’t wait to get out of there.

If I find a place that treats me like a person… you’ve got yourself a customer!
Good customer service today would just include eye contact, a smile and sincere acknowledgement!
Can we do that people?

It’s back to school time and I’ve been out and about more than usual which means I’ve been “exposed” to the goings on “out there” more than usual.

I’ve seen kids meltdown in the middle of stores because they didn’t get what they wanted, while parents cave – in order to “save embarrassment”, teens argue with parents of how ridiculed they’d be if they didn’t get “this one”, then proceed to shame and name call their own parent …UGH!!

We accept what we allow.

I by no means have the perfect children, have perfected the necessary parenting skills or have the absolute solutions, BUT I believe there are some things that I can do to improve my parenting.

This is where the adult language and four letter words come in…

Adult language we could all benefit from adding to our vocabulary:

Commitment

Stick to something for the amount of time you said. Stop letting your kids quit sports after two practices, an activity, etc. Pick a reasonable time frame to commit to try it and complete it! If your kid hates baseball – don’t sign him up next season, but don’t make the team or coach suffer.

Discernment

Help make better decisions. Sit down with them and make pros & cons lists or good or better lists when they have to make a decision. Don’t sway them, let them come to their own conclusions.

Preparation

Lack of planning on their part does not constitute as an emergency for you! Forgot their book, cleats, lunch? Procrastinated on that paper, homework… Well, I guess you’d better be prepared for the…

Consequences

The results of their own actions – good or bad are on them!

There are more…like discipline, expectations, practice, but I’m pretty sure you get the point and can think of more “adult words” even more personally relevant to your kiddos.

The four letter word I wish we heard more often and seasoned our language with more often:

 

Hope

This is the word that gives us possibility, something to look forward to, to work towards. Don’t get this mixed up with wishing. Neither wishing or hoping will get you anywhere without a…

Goal

This is the target to shoot for, where the path you’re taking leads or shows you which direction you should go. Remember, you can always adapt the plan, but don’t change the goal!

Fuel

This is what drives you! More than money, health or anything else this is the thing that keeps you going and often times what fulfills you! It’s your WHY you keep going, pushing or trying.

Love

You’d think this goes without saying, but it has to make the list! Here’s maybe a different perspective though…

This one could be huge if we can focus it more toward others and away from ourselves. Imagine how much confidence we could build if we used this as an adjective…”I love how you…”, “I love what you did…”  

Did you ever hear “what gets recognized gets repeated?” That means if I’m constantly recognizing to my kids…”you always leave your dirty dishes” – that’s what’s going to be repeated. If I want to change it, I can simply recognize more of the things that I want repeated…”I LOVE that you put the dishes away without being asked.”

We need more GOOD recognition out there! Are you with me?

Learning to change my vocabulary to match my mindset right there with you,
Deana