A Home without Walls

Parents...Please listen up.

I want to suggest to you that it is not the home you live in that makes a family secure, but rather it is the invisible shield and boundary that you build around as parents.

Little Johnny just would not stay in bed and Suzie kept throwing her food onto the floor. What was going on? Why was all this behavior surfacing? Well the family were in the midst of a move and living for a few days in a strange place. The children were unsettled, feeling the changes around them. What was a parent to do?

Here's my thinking:

The stability of a family should not be build on the security of our outward circumstances but should be based on the unseen foundation and "walls" that have been built by the parents. "It" should remain the same no matter the situation or whereabouts that you find yourself in.
There may be need for more one on one time, more explanation etc. but the walls and foundation of the behaviors you are trying to instill in your young ones should remain unshakeable. That is what the children are unknowingly looking for. They are needing to know that the stability and presence of their mom and dad are still the same even though the outside circumstances have changed.

Mom and/or Dad need to put little Johnny to bed with plenty of love and affirmation while also reiterating that the "house" rules remain the same. When you are put to bed..you stay in bed.
Suzie needs to be taken from her chair into another room and spoken to quietly and firmly..reminding her that this is NOT what we do with our food.
Now of course the behavior may not stop as on any other given day but you need to see it as simply another chance to reiterate that you have expectations that you will follow through on no matter where you are or what you are doing.
Some children seem born to test and they will no matter what the situation ...Dont let it send you into orbit ...USE IT to continue to teach them that you are the parent and that obedience is crutial for their well being and happiness.

Blessings on you as you build those solid, unseeable walls around the ones you love the most. Let them know again that the security they feel is in the family you have together not anything else.