Sunday, September 25, 2005

Early morning thoughts about child behavior

Somebody small woke me up at 4:30 this morning, and after nursing, he was awake and alert. It was 5 AM. OK, so up I get and I put the coffee on -- I may as well stay up. He just now went to sleep and it's now 6:30 and since I've had some caffeine, I can't go back to sleep, so I may as well blog! I can take a nap later on this afternoon, if he lets me. :)

The last few weeks I've been getting caught up on American TV. My parents have decided to pay for our cable TV, so I've been watching it (more than I should, really!) and I discovered the much publicized show called "Supernanny" in which a British Mary Poppins-like nanny comes to households whose children are out-of-control naughty. These kids are horrendous acting, but the underlying theme I see this nanny employ to these families is to get on a daily routine, do activities with the kids, be firm and follow through with discipline and set high expectations.

I don't think I was ever horrible as a child, neither were my sisters, and my mother will be a great source of wisdom for raising Aidan to be a good boy, or at least one who is in control and respectful. Bottom line is that parents must provide structure and routine for the little ones and follow up on discipline. I'm hooked on Supernanny so I can know how deal later on as Aidan gets bigger.

2 comments:

Mel said...

Aim we got hooked on a show that came on basic cable called "Nanny 911", with the European nannies (most were English, but I think one was Scottish). I loved how at the end of the show/time, you could really see the love and respect that the nannies had earned by the kids and parents, after the nannies had basically made them all much happier by providing structure and respect in the house. They are so grateful for being given the opportunity to learn how to have a graceful household again and share love with their family. Sometimes its necessary to have an objective third party around to help with the repairs and restoration of the family. That must be a very rewarding job (when it works! ;).

Running2Ks said...

I've been amazed by the turnaround at the end of the shows--not just in the kids, but in the parents!