(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here. For more information about the specific foods I eat, click here.)
You’ve probably heard this a thousand times, but the key to being a good spouse AND a good parent is communication.
In a marriage, communication is important for the obvious reasons. When making decisions that effect the family, communication is needed with the family and especially between spouses. Compromise, as I mentioned before, can only be done with communication. I could preach communication all day, but I know you guys have heard it all before.
What about with parenting? Well, yes, commercials tell you over and over that it’s important to talk to your child about drugs and that it’s important to know about your child’s friends, which is accomplished by communication. So again, you’ve heard it all before.
However, I’m going to present an example of communication to you that you may not have heard before, and this one is important for parents. When my daughter was less than 2-years-old, she asked me that very cliche question of why the sky is blue. I proceeded to explain:
“Gas in the sky lets light through. However, some light, such as blue light, gets absorbed by the gas and scattered. So it’s coming from every direction. Since blue is all over the place, that’s why the sky looks blue on a cloudless day.”
My mother-in-law looked at me like I was stupid.
“How can you expect her to understand that?” she asked.
“I don’t expect her to understand it. Yet,” I responded.
About a week ago my daughter was on the phone with one of her cousins. He asked her why the sky was blue. Remember, she’s 7 right now. We haven’t had this discussion since she was less than 2. Here’s what she said:
“My daddy says that there’s stuff in the sky that bounces the light all over the place. Blue light gets bounced more so you see it more.”
I smiled of course.
So my point is that you should NEVER talk to your child like he/she is a child. Always give your full knowledge. They soak it in like a sponge. Which means it’s also ok to start early with the drug discussions. Don’t put it off because “he won’t understand that right now.” Maybe not, but later they’ll remember and they WILL understand.
DIET DIARY
Numbers from Today
Blood Sugar: 96
Weight: 280.0
Fat Percentage: 48.0
Water Percentage: 30.5
Muscle Percentage: 34.8
Food and Exercise from Yesterday
Fluids: Water (16 oz - 5 times a day)
Exercise:
None.
Meal 1:
Oatmeal
Multivitamin
B150 Vitamin Complex
Snack 1:
1 Slim Fast 220 Calorie Optima Bar
Meal 2:
2 Turkey Sandwiches
Chips
Snack 2:
1 Slim Fast 220 Calorie Optima Bar
Meal 3:
2 Peanut Butter Sandwiches
Chips
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By Deimos Tel`Arin on Jan 25, 2008 |
Okay I have to admit, this is the first time I seriously read up an article in there and I have to say, I am totally impressed!
I will have to burn this piece of data into my database, hard code it, make it an un-removable data i.e. Read Only Memory (ROM) so that when one day I have kids of my own, I will apply the same method that you taught your daughter 5 years ago.
Thanks for sharing, mate.
Good info!
Cheers!
Deimos Tel`Arin’s last blog post..Portal Guide - Level 04
By Saphrym on Jan 25, 2008 |
@Deimos - Glad to have you come by. I see you in the EC forums enough.
But I truly believe that little tidbit you quoted. Feel free to shout it from the rooftops. I would, but I’m scared of heights.
By Tip Diva on Jan 25, 2008 |
It’s amazing how much kids can absorb. I swear, the children I babysit know more about the 2008 elections than I do (and they’ve already rattled off ten reasons why I should vote for Democrats rather than Republicans).
And I agree with talking with them about drugs early. When I was growing up, the earliest most of my friends had the discussion was in the D.A.R.E. program at school. But at that point, many of us had older siblings who were already dabbling in that stuff.
Tip Diva’s last blog post..Top Ten Tips - Using Blog Carnivals
By Saphrym on Jan 26, 2008 |
@Tip Diva - My wife and I are subs and we deal with a large age range of kids. So, yeah, I’ve noticed that they know more than I ever did at their age.
By Deimos Tel`Arin on Jan 26, 2008 |
@Mike:
I think I’ll just hard code it into my database. I’m afraid of heights too!
Regarding communication, for my case, it is kinda one sided LOL
My darling (wife to be) is the Queen, and I am the slave that must obey or else! O_O
Deimos Tel`Arin’s last blog post..Portal Guide - Level 05
By Saphrym on Jan 26, 2008 |
@Deimos - As long as that works for you and you’re completely happy with it, that’s fine. If you’re unhappy about it at all, then you’ll start having resentment towards her that will fester the longer you’re together.