Getting along

This weekend we went to Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park, CO to celebrate my birthday. We haven't had much snow this year so I was missing the cold. We went sledding and tubing had a bit of a snow fight and made snow angels. We also went swimming and played a little basketball, all in all we had a great time. At Snow Mtn Ranch there are no T.V.'s or radios ( we did have to find a restuarant with a T.V. for the Broncos game) and you are forced to spend all your time together. Spending all your time together in the same room shows much about your children's relationship with each other. I love that my kids are best friends, they really are, I'm not just saying that. Some advice that we were given by other parents who seemed to have children that enjoyed being together:

1. Don't allow tattle telling. Make them work it out, you'll only get in the way. ( We allow them to come to us only after they've talked to each other or in cases of physical harm.)

2. Don't allow name calling - ever.

3. If one child has wronged another make them say sorry, ask for forgiveness and make it right.

4. Verbally reiterate that "We are a family that loves each other and are each other's best friends."

5. Make time for them to play together. Our rule is that if they can't play nicely together then they don't have the privilege of playing with other children.

I pray this works. I've seen this workwith other families who have created strong family relationships marked with respect and care for each other. If this weekend was an indication, I think we are on a road marked with success.

Categories: parenting