learn a lot about what your children think about life. That’s important
as you monitor their psychological and emotional growth. Start
listening now, because you’ll certainly want to stay in touch with your
kids when they’re teens!
Sympathetic Listening and Counting
So listening helps you to understand your children and also helps to
diffuse negative emotions. That’s fine, but if you listened all the time,
you wouldn’t be any kind of a disciplinarian. Sympathetic listening
by itself has very little to do with setting limits and enforcing rules.
Imagine this scene:
Son: “Mom—you idiot! My best T-shirt’s still in the wash!”
Mother: “You’re feeling pretty frustrated with me.”
Caution- You are a good listener if, while your child is talking, you are sincerely trying
to understand what he is saying. - You are a bad listener if, while your child is talking, you are preparing your
rebuttal.
This parent’s response is inappropriate. The child’s disrespect is
way out of proportion to the situation and should be confronted,
probably by counting.