bad attitude

We have gone through this as well with my ds7. So, I guess it must be a trend among boys their age!

What has helped tremendously with our son is to explain to him how his choices affect others. If I give an instruction or say we’re going to the store (which he does NOT like) and he complains about it, I immediately remind him of his choices. I say that he has two choices: have a good attitude and make everyone’s life more joyful and easier or have a bad attitude and get the consequences that go along with that. Sometimes he hesitantly makes the right choice.

When he sees that his complaining affects our entire family, he usually changes his behavior quickly. Also, we have used The 21 Original Rules of This House for personal development this year. One of the rules is “When we have work to do, we do it without complaining.” Reminding him of this rule has also been helpful, as well as his memorization of Philippians 2:14.

Finally, if all else fails, I simply bring my own behavior to his attention. In fact, just yesterday he was complaining about having to pick up sticks in the backyard (a very simple task, imo). I said, “Son, do I complain every time I make you a meal? Do I complain about doing your laundry or washing your dishes? Do I complain about cleaning our house or grocery shopping?” Of course, his answer to all my questions was “No”. So I continued, “In a family, everyone has a job to do. That’s part of being a family. When I give you a job to do, I expect you to do it joyfully and without complaining. If you can’t do that, you’re going to … (get a spanking, have less time playing, get another chore, etc.). I’ll also throw in something about how it’s much more fun to work joyfully and that his joy will carry over into the rest of us.

Hope that helps,

Lindsey

Sara B., here is the link from the SCM Bookfinder: http://apps.simplycharlottemason.com/resources/detail/10320

For some reason the last rule isn’t complete, so here’s the last rule: 21. When we forget or disobey any of the 21 Rules of This House, we accept discipline and instruction.

We have all really enjoyed this resource. I’ll probably use it again in the future and have corresponding Bible verses to go along with each rule. 

Blessings,

Lindsey

Yes, I own the book. I has pages with a picture to correlate with each rule. It also has coloring pages that you can copy and let your kids color. Coloring our new rule page was always my kids’ favorite part of each week. It’s a great book!