Turn Discipline into Gospel Teaching Moments

Earlier this month, I was working in the office while the boys were playing in the bathtub. I heard suspicious activity, but unwisely decided not to check right away. When I finally went in, I saw foam and bubbles all over the boys, bathtub, and shower walls! It took me a second to realize what they had done: they used their baby body wash to make a bubble bath. Not a big deal, right? Easy clean up. But they had used the entire bottle that I had just bought! That soap ain't cheap, let me tell you. In fact, when we bought more last week, it had gone up in price, and I kicked myself for not getting it online when it was on sale. I reminded my son at the store not to use the soap for bubbles.

Tonight's setting was the same. I was in the office while the boys played innocently--or so I thought. When I went in to wash them up, lo and behold, another bubble bath. The good news is that is was nowhere near as big as the first and the soap bottle was still full.

My first instinct was to yell at them. Thankfully, I stopped myself and asked calmly instead, "What did I tell you when we bought the soap?"

"Not to make a bubble bath."

"That's right. But you didn't listen. So what do you think should happen?"

"Repentance."

That completely caught me off guard! But it reminded me that the whole purpose of discipline is to teach, not just punish.

"And what does that mean?"

"You don't do it again."

Someone has been listening to his Primary teacher after all. Sometimes gospel teaching can feel pointless when kids are being irreverent and not paying attention. Every Sunday I ask my son what he learned that day in Primary and he rarely can tell me. But this moment showed me things do get heard and understood and we shouldn't give up on teaching no matter how fruitless it seems.

"That's right. So what are you going to do next time?"

"Take a little bit of soap and wash myself!"

Very cute. We reviewed repentance and I let him choose his punishment for disobeying. I told him we would get a bottle of bubble bath to make everyone happy. Then when he said his bedtime prayer, I had him ask Heavenly Father for forgiveness. It ended up being a very valuable experience for both of us. I'm glad I didn't stick with my original urge that would have ruined the night for everyone. I hope I remember this moment next time I feel frustrated and turn it into another opportunity for gospel application instead.

Sharing Time: Share a time when you were able to use a disciplinary situation to reinforce gospel principles with your children.

Comments

DAD said…

he who hath clean hands and a pure heart...

July 27, 2015 at 12:09 AM

Teaching Children Really Does Make a Difference

A talk from stake conference today reminded me of the testimony I gave in September and meant to post here. Here's the gist of it . Sometimes I wonder if teaching the gospel to my children is really making a difference, especially because I don't see the results right away. Scripture study and family home evening require a lot of effort, and most of the time is spent getting them to sit and pay attention and not fight with each other. It reminds me of when Elder Bednar shared similar thoughts in a past conference: Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile. Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts such as “He’s touching me!” “Make him stop looking at me!” “Mom, he’s breathing my air!” Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking. And with active, rambunctious boys, family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification. At times Sister Bed...

Unexpected Blessings of Modesty

graphic by Ivan Prole Because we hear the modesty talk at church and related activities, we are well aware of the spiritual blessings of being modest. But there are other subtle ways in which the Lord blesses us for keeping this commandment. Better Skin When you get older you won’t have sun-damaged skin on your chest, shoulders, back, and thighs. Your skin is better protected from the sun’s rays and therefore will not show signs of aging as quickly or as severely as it would if exposed. More Flattering Figure Women who dress to their body types modestly look more flattering. Wearing clothes that fit and cover allows your body to look its best (just watch What Not to Wear for examples). More Outfits With all the t-shirts, camisoles, cardigans, and other layering devices in your wardrobe, you can mix and match to make numerous outfits and easily dress up or down an outfit as well. More Comfort You won’t experience the pain and discomfort from super ...

A Few Degrees

"I have learned that the difference between happiness and misery in individuals, in marriages, and families often comes down to an error of only a few degrees," said President Uchtdorf in General Conference April 2008 . To illustrate this point, he explained that if your course flying around the world were just one degree off, by the time you got back around, you would be 500 miles (800 km) off course. It almost seems unfair that a small mistake can have such a negatively dramatic effect on our lives. However, it is not one small error that does this, but many "small errors and minor drifts away from the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is therefore of critical importance that we become self-disciplined enough to make early and decisive corrections to get back on the right track and not wait or hope that errors will somehow correct themselves. "The longer we delay corrective action, the larger the needed changes become, and the longer it takes to get back ...

Brightening My Light

Search This Blog