Teachable Moments

Last evening we attended our home school group's "Presentation Night" for the children of the group to share something they learned or memorized this school year. During the performances there was a group of 6 pre-teen girls who were very loud throughout the evening. They sat unsupervised in the audience and yelled and screamed after every performance. It became very disruptive by the end of the evening at the dessert reception as they continued to draw attention to themselves in a negative way. I was upset by the whole thing; the girls were loud and inconsiderate of others, they didn't show any respect for the occasion and acted as if they were at a sleep over. Now I know they are pre-teens, but their behaviors were bothersome. Of course I went home thinking how their parents were painfully absent and needed to be actively guiding these girls. I was concerned for my girls who are almost that age that they would glamorize such things and think that was cool. I'm hoping for better for my girls; that is part of why we are home schooling them.

Today, however, opened my eyes to a lesson I needed to learn about teaching and training my own children. My 4 year olds are in a soccer class and today my 4 year old son was unwilling to fully participate. He can be clingy with me sometimes, and today was a good example of that. I kept telling him to go back and listen to his coach. He kept coming back to me to try to sit on my lap and avoid playing soccer. I was disappointed because he wasn't showing independence and determination to learn something the way that I wanted. During the class I realized that what I needed to do was to go along side him and play with him for a while to show him, to teach him. Of course I didn't feel like running around, kicking a ball with my boy for 45 minutes; I was feeling just plain l-a-z-y!

So, how is my laziness in teaching my son how to participate in class any different than the parents who allowed the rowdy girls last night to be by themselves? We both needed to come along side our children to model and encourage right behavior. I failed in that today because I just didn't want to do it. How many times do I face that these days? My children are growing up and into a phase of parenting that requires me to do more with them than for them. I know the Proverbs verse that says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." (Prov. 22:6 NIV) That verse requires action in the present tense. That is a lot of work!

Scripture also says that before I point out the "speck" in someone's eye, I ought to take out the "plank" in my own! (Matthew7:5). So before I go acting like the "parent police" I ought to think twice about my own parenting decisions.

What else is there to say? I went to school today and learned a good lesson. I hope I don't forget it.