Words are powerful.
Every child learns this through tears.
It’s not enough to hope that they understand the magnitude of their words.
We have to share things bit by bit everyday. Point out things that happen like interactions on the street.
Pause the movie and ask questions. Notice their language and the language of their friends. Be present to overhear and listen what they see, do watch and hang with. It’s not just them we need to be mindful too. Not perfect but wise in our words. It’s not about being a wordsmith or an English major. Yet we know the power of words goes far and used well the impact is positive.
It’s important that we watch our tone, the lightness in our voice or the thunder and the rain. You hear the irritation in other’s voices as you’re at the Mall, coffee shop or on the walk in town. We don’t know what’s got them to that point. But we can check our words and be motivated to change.
What’s the weather of words like in your home?
This is probably one of the hardest things we do in our homes; watching our words. The tiredness, the sarcasm, the frustration. We all have those days. The times when we’re on cloud nine and nothing feels like it would change the upbeat mood.
The power of words seeps into our motivation. When you can’t find something- ” I always lose things. It’s never where I put it. Why do they take it? It’s not my fault!” words change our motivation. When the children are testing or performing there’s a lot of anxiety around of failure. They do need to learn to be resilient and it helps if they have some words to power them through and express some of their anxiety but work through a way that stops it from paralyzing them. That’ll be different for each person.
Go after that child- not necessarily straight away- that mumbles negativity, stores up tension in their body language. Support them with the power of words. They may need encouragement. They may need a listening ear and a quiet place.
Conversation: Challenge between you and your child to notice 3 times before bedtime someone who encouraged someone in the family without it being obvious- a genuine encouragement.
With three boys in the house we’ve had many times when one is upset and angry at another for their words or a situation that escalated. We try encouraging reconciliation through encouragement and action. We say a fair bit of sorry but it’s not always geninue. Not quite sure how to get past this really.
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