My kids aren’t listening, and I’m worn out.
Lately our habits (theirs and mine) have gotten pretty ugly. They don’t listen. I yell. It doesn’t help. I get mad. I yell more. They finally hear and look at me like, “What is your problem, crazy lady?” I lecture. They try not to roll their eyes. We all walk away grumpy.
I know. Mom of the Year.
THE EXPERIMENT
Yesterday, I decided to try a little experiment.
I called the troops in close, their three little bodies right up next to mine. In a hushed voice, I told them the plan: “Today, I will only be whispering, so you may have to try a little harder to hear. Got it? Ok, Go play!” And off they went, the Boy-child on his scooter and the girls, straight to their friends waiting nearby, ready to play.
And that’s what I did. I whispered to my kids all day long.
Here’s what this little experiment taught me:
#1: It’s hard to be mad (and act like a crazy woman) when you’re whispering. With my volume in check, my tone changed too. So, even when I needed to correct or discipline, it was done gently.
#2: Whispering forced me to get more physically involved with my kids. This means I couldn’t yell at them from a reclining position on the couch or sitting at my desk in front of the computer. I had to be where they were, where they could see me, if I expected to be heard.
#3: I felt a lot less tired (and peaceful) at the end of the day.
What I learned gave me great parenting perspective, but that wasn’t my favorite part.
The best thing about whispering with my kids all day was that this experiment forced us to spend the day in sweet proximity. Face to face and uncomfortably close at times. My youngest even pressed his sweet, chubby cheeks into my neck so he wouldn’t miss a single word coming from my lips.
