The topic of child discipline came to mind, especially when I hosted two of my granddaughter’s birthday parties this year. The guests included children from ages 1 to 6 years old. Their mothers were also invited.
Unfortunately, we experienced bad weather for both parties and had to be inside the house. This meant we had to be more careful with the little ones around. I was amazed at how a couple of the mothers did not intervene when they saw their 4 to 6 year old children running around my house like maniacs. They were so bad, they nearly knocked down the little ones who were just in their walking stages. I felt uneasy having to tell other parents’ children not to run and why, but I had no choice.
I was also amazed at how the same couple of children started knocking down decorations almost as soon as they came inside. It took a lot of effort in decorating and preparing for the party ahead of time. Again, the mothers did not intervene. If the couple of children are acting this way at my house, how are they behaving at home?
I certainly did not expect the children to be spanked or yelled at, but they should have been calmly told what not to do and why not to do it and to show respect at someone else’s home. This responsibility should not have been mine.
In my opinion, children should be taught how to behave at home and elsewhere early in life. Ages 4 to 6 is plenty old enough for children to understand rules. If you wait until they are much older, things can get way out of hand. Children who aren’t taught right from wrong and aren’t disciplined at an early age, are often the children people dread coming into their home. I love children and have a lot of patience with them, but their parents are the ones who should be setting boundaries.