HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT CHILDREN sometimes try to be helpful, but it only makes your life more complicated?
I heard a story about a mother who was sick in bed with the flu. Her darling daughter wanted so much to be a good nurse. She fluffed the pillows and brought a magazine for her mother to read. And then she even showed up with a surprise cup of tea.
"Why, you're such a sweetheart," the mother said as she drank the tea."
"Oh yes," the little girl replied. "I learned by watching you. I put the tea leaves in the pan and then I put in the water, and I boiled it, and then I strained it into a cup. but I couldn't find a strainer, so I used the flyswatter instead."
"You what?" the mother screamed."
And the little girl said, "Oh don't worry, Mom, I didn't use the new flyswatter. I used the old one."
When kids try their hardest and they get it all wrong in spite of themselves, what's a parent to do? What mothers and fathers do is often prevent their children from carrying any responsibility that could result in a mess or a mistake. It's just easier to do everything for them than to clean up afterward. But I urge parents not to fall into that trap.
Your childneeds his mistakes. That's how he learns. So go along with the game every now and then...even if the tea you drink tasts a liitle strange.
Taken from:
Home With A Heart
DR. James Dobson
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