discipline |

An Amazing Reminder That Discipline is Love

Love = Discipline. It’s hard to remember, and sometimes harder to enforce. My daughter and I saw an amazing thing the other day . . . at a horse rescue farm . . . that has served as a remarkable reminder that loving means disciplining. I’ll set the stage: We’re looking on – into a small horse corral. In it there is a lively colt and his human handler. The colt quickly moves from lively to uncontrollable. While the handler is proficiently directing and leading the colt out of the corral, the colt refuses any attempt to be guided or led through the gate. After many attempts, the colt will have nothing to do with walking through the gate. He insists on charging toward the wooden barracks, at an unsafe and uncontrolled pace. He is jumping and thrashing, while putting his head up toward the handler as if to say, well, _____ you! He didn’t stop there. That little colt even stomped his hoof right at the handler, in timed cadence, protesting each of her …

The Balance of Parenting

Published by Terri Shearer Trenchard

Nurture. Empower. Support. Discipline. Boundaries. This parenting thing is such a balance. Build them up; foster their self-esteem; nurture confidence, yet instill independence and responsibility. Maintain boundaries. Communicate consequences. And deliver them consistently. Sometimes it’s a tough row to hoe – and not always an easy one. Take the every-day things. We usually know, in our heads, what we should do. But doesn’t the hectic pace of all those everyday-little- things-and-activities-and-to-do’s-and-texts-and-phone calls-and-emails just get in the darn way sometimes? Sometimes I think this parenting thing would be much easier, much more effective, in a place like Walden Pond or some other inspired utopian community. Ahhhhhhh . . . . not exactly realistic. But I can imagine . . . In the meantime, I, as a loving and well-intentioned parent, perpetually try to balance the delicate acts of nurturing self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth in my kids, while also “preparing them to be citizens of the world.” I read, I listen to, I soak in, and I ponder a variety of “parenting” topics out there, and inevitably, …