Friday, January 23, 2009
"I Have Learned it All Already!"
John and I have been trying to figure out why Eric not only doesn't want to go to school, but he doesn't seem to want to go to church lately either. We both understood that at 7 this stuff is boring, but it seemed to go further than that. No matter what I would say to him and no matter how I asked him why, his answer was always, "It's stupid." This was very upsetting to me. I didn't know what to do. John, last night, talked to Eric and asked him the same questions that I have been asking for weeks. Eric actually gave an honest answer that we could work with this time. "I have learned it all already, Dad," he said calmly. John just gave him a hug and explained to him that there is still more to learn, even for Dad. As they continued to talk, John and Eric had a moment that was much needed. I couldn't believe that my son actually opened up to someone, and the best part about it was that he opened up to his dad, and his dad opened up to him. I am so glad that John knows how to talk to my boys and make them feel like he truly understands and is listening to them.
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5 comments:
That's great. Those are the moments that really matter!
That is so so awesome! I've noticed Andur is more responsive to Matt, too, and I tell Matt this because he seems to forget and sets the wrong example... I NEVER do that. (this is me looking sheepish) But yay for John! That's so good!
Richard and I teach the kids turning 7 this year in church. We've had had this class for two years with 3 different classes and over 20 kids altogether. The girls still tend to enjoy it, but many of the boys feel the same "I know this already" thing.
We challenge them -when it becomes a problem- to come up with one thing they didn't know before, and if they can, we give them a treat at the end of class. --even if its not gospel oriented like "Sister Teasdale has a baby in her tummy."
They listen and observe while trying to find those few things they hadn't known before and I try with all I have to bring the spirit in to the class. If I can bring the spirit and they listen hard enough to feel it, then the content of the lesson isn't near as important.
I think it is wonderful that your children can talk to their dad. What a great moment for all!
What a great father-son moment.
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