All in all my kids played together really well. But kids
being kids, there were times when they…did not. There was even a time or two
when these ‘battles’ resulted in a casualty or two; Oopsie Daisy being one of them…
Elizabeth and Olivia were five and three years-old when for
a reason I don’t even remember, began to argue and Olivia decided she would be
the one to come out on top. So what did she do? She went in for ‘the kill’ by
grabbing up Elizabeth’s Oopsie Daisy doll and breaking her little leg right off
her little plastic body. Olivia’s ‘victory’ was short-lived, however, as justice was served swiftly and appropriately. While this did little to mend Elizabeth’s broken heart or Oopsie’s leg, I learned a very important lesson that day—well, actually two very important lessons.
Lesson one: It’s impossible to fix a broken leg on an Oopsie Daisy doll even when Daddy tries.
Lesson two: You should never make your child say the words “I’m
sorry”.
Making a child say they are sorry is to make them tell a lie. That’s
right-if you make a child say something they do not mean, then they are lying.
Instead, you need to concentrate your efforts on helping your child feel the
need to ask forgiveness and say they are sorry in their heart and mind… not yours. Instead of making them say “I’m sorry”, require them to listen while the person they hurt expresses their feelings or explain to them how their actions hurt the other person and require them to think about how they would feel if someone had done the same to them.
Either way, the desired end-result is for your child to feel remorse and regret--which leads to wanting to apologize...and meaning it when they do.
FYI: These two ended up living together for a while when they left home and wouldn't hurt each other for anything...now. :)
Love,
Momma D
