It would seem that the first few years of parenting are concerned with survival which tends to be basically a black and white affair. You are either okay or you're not. An infant's cry gives a pretty clear "no" and a smile or giggle shouts "yes".
When you're trying to remedy a soiled diaper, the solution isn't all that full of nuances. Clean vs not clean. Smelly vs fresh.
Now that Lucas and I move away from infancy we are entering murkier waters. He has mastered the basics of survival. Don't go on the road. The pond is off limits. If you see a snake ... run!
But, as he begins to understand how to socialize and how to find his place in the world it is not so simple any longer.
The rule in our house is 'no hitting'. Period. Full stop. Except .... we just got a dog. If Russell bites one of the kids, we gave them permission to smack him with an open hand on his shoulder.
Now, how to explain why hitting is okay in this instance? No hitting, no hitting, no hitting ... we never hit in this house. Well, almost never. And the black and white of infancy fades to grey.
No comments:
Post a Comment