Just this week, I decided to start switching the kid's bedrooms around. I think it has to do with spring fever or something...Noah had a queen bed in his room that we were using for guests when they came over... He'd get the boot, and they'd get the queen. I decided to switch out his bed and replace it with a set of bunk beds for him (and eventually Nathan). Noah claimed the top bunk as his own and slept there last night. I asked him how he'd slept and (half joking) if he fell off in the middle of the night. He casually replied, "Nope, but I'd only do it once. I wouldn't fall off again after that." Ha! That boy has learned a key parenting strategy! "He'll only do it once." He must have heard me say that more than a few times. If I've told the two year old not to touch the hot tea pot, and they do it anyhow, I can just about guarantee that they've learned their lesson and won't do it again. Or how about when they leave their favorite stuffed animal out in the rain and mud when they were told to bring it in? It's called "reality discipline", and I love it. It's disciplining without having to be the bad guy. Nature has it's own boundaries set up and if you overstep them... whammo! She'll teach you her lesson. (Now, before you think I'm a total ogre, I'll admit that I do add an addendum to the principle every once in a while... no running with scissors; no jumping off of the roof; no leaping over campfires... you get the picture :)
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