Saying the "please" and "thank you" is a very big deal for Hubby and me. We enforce these magic words on Kuya and Kowi because we want to teach them about respect. Kuya has gotten it down to a tee. With Kowi, well, it's a different story.
Since Kowi is just three, she still forgets to say her pleases and thank yous. The house rule is that without the magic words, it's an automatic NO to whatever they're asking us to do. Sometimes Kowi can't understand how Hubby and I could turn down a simple request all because she forgot to say them.
Last night at the dinner table, Kowi asked me to get Stick-O for her. She didn't say "please" so I decided to remind her.
"Kowi, what do you say when you're asking me to do something?" I said.
"Mom, get me Stick-Oooooo." she said in a whiny tone.
"Not until you say the magic word." I reminded her.
She was quiet for a while. Hubby decided to join in.
"Mommy will not get anything for you because you forgot the magic word." He said. "Now, what do you say?"
At this point, Kowi was already making faces.
"What do you say, Kowi?" I added.
She said very quietly, "Hocus pocus?"
these are my thoughts on various inconsequences like being a stay-at-home mom, a former military wife, the meaning of life and everything else in between.
4 comments:
wow, good for you and your husband to enforce the magic words to your kids. my husband and i discussed about raising a baby and how to teach them in the right way coz i noticed that my friends kids can get anything they want and rules are I think not that useful because parents easily give in. those who easily give in to what their kids want had a problematic child and those who knows how to deal with their kids attitude have a good, responsible and respectful child. you can really see the difference when discipline is imposed and not pity. sometimes parents forget to descipline their child because of pity. good job for teaching your kids at such a very young age. :)
hi michelle. thanks. sometimes parents give in to their kids out of guilt because they spend little time with them. i think the trick is to start young and consistency. it's great that you and your hubby are talking about how you plan to raise your family. i assure you, this has been a source of conflict for my hummby and me when we were starting. actually, we still have disagreements about that. haay.
Hi Carol! :) I agree that these magic words are very important. It's more than just a word but it's a sign of respect and politeness. And yes, discipline should start while they are very young. :)
Hi Sab. I totally agree. But it's really hard to disciple kids. Sometimes I think the time-outs are really for me, not for the kids. Haha.
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