My wife is a consummate reader of parenting materials, and candidly, she usually has a good idea of what makes our son tick, and what a good course of action is with whatever is going on with him, whether it is encouragement, or redirection, distraction, etc. Hint: 99% of time, so-called “discipline” really isn’t the best course (or even a good course of action) for a child of his age. Why? Because the development of a child’s will is supremely important. And it is crucial for a father or mother to be patient with his or her child. Our Father in Heaven, of course, is slow to anger and quick to forgive. By slow, I imagine that He takes epochs to become angry and forgives instantaneously. Also, episodes of bad behavior usually tend to be instigated by the parents and are often the result of parental tantrums, not vice versa.

Michele posted a link to this blog post on Google Buzz, and I laughed when I read the “4 year old” line-item regarding typical behavior during meals. It warmed my heart that she and I generally do not scold him for being at the table. My favorite post on Parenting Passageway, however, has been this general overview about how to do ‘discipline’ with children.

Note: Cross posted to our blog about our son.