A Twenty Year Process

Lately, I have been very discouraged with my parenting/discipline skills.. and wishing that my kids would just be robots and listen to AND obey everything I say... We all know THAT is not realistic.. This excerpt from Dr. James Dobson's book "The New Strong-Willed Child" gave me perspective, encouragement and hope...

"The purpose of parental discipline is not to produce obedient little robots who can sit with their hands folded in the parlor thinking patriotic and noble thoughts! Even if we could pull that off, it wouldn't be wise to try.

The objective, as I see it, is to take the raw material our babies arrive with on this earth and gradually mold it, shaping them into mature, responsible, God-fearing adults. It is a twenty -year process that involves progress, setbacks, successes, and failures. When the child turns thirteen, you'll swear for a time that he's missed everything you thought you had taught- manners, kindness, grace, and style. But then maturity begins to take over, and the little green shoots from former plantings start to emerge. It is one of the richest experiences in life to watch that blossoming at the latter end of childhood."