be bought with the following words:
• “I’m not sure what to do about this right now, but I’ll let you
know.”
• “You know, I’ve never been the parent of a five-year-old boy
before, so I’ll have to give this some thought. I’ll get back to
you on it.”
• “I’m not sure how to react to that. I’ll have to give it some
thought.”Then, if you really want to drive the point home, you can add, “Try not
to worry about it.” Chances are that doing so will ensure that your kids do
nothing but consider their actions over the next few days.
Giving ourselves time to consider consequences helps our kids too.
They have time to agonize over the possible consequences, and that is
quality thinking time.
LOVE AND LOGIC TIP 25
Consequences with HumorLove and Logic emphasizes consequences, and consequences can
sometimes be painful. But let us never forget that Love and Logic
puts the pizzazz, zip, and fun into parenting and leadership in
general. People use Love and Logic because it makes them feel
good. Just like “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,”
creativity and a sense of humor can also help the consequences go
down.
This leads me (Foster) to share a wonderful story with you
that was recently told to me after a workshop. I can take no
credit for it, and if I could credit the wonderful mom who told it
to me, of course I would.
My husband was the quiet — and sometimes drill sergeant —
type, and as we viewed your videotapes, he would sometimes