Thursday, April 7, 2011

Why our discipline approach might need some work

A little context: Caroline's favorite color is currently red.

So we're taking care of our neighbors' donkeys while they're out of town for a few days. Each day, Spence has been trekking the kids across the street and up the hill to feed and water them. As he was finishing the job one day, Caroline turned and dashed down the hill and across the street -- not a busy street, mind you, but one that gets all manner of speeding rednecks.

Spence finally caught up with her in our driveway and asked if she'd stopped and looked both ways. When she said "no" and then saw the look on his face, she quickly changed her story to "yes." He then proceeded to explain to her in rather graphic detail what might happen if she got hit by a car, thinking it might be impactful enough to make her more careful next time. She listened intently and replied, "But Daddy, my red blood would look so pretty and shiny on the road!"

Oh my.