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We’re nick-namers. We called Emma “Bug” when she was little, then “Emma Bug” when she was a little older. She gets called “Sweet Pea,” “Little Love,” and all sorts of little terms of endearment. The problem is that our little expressions of love weren’t spoken in a language she was hearing. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, she asked that we just call her Emma or “a name with Emma in it.”
Yikes.
She’s at an age where she wants to assert her will, and that’s a good thing. Our job is to listen and respect her requests. Of course we can’t say yes to everything she asks for, but when it’s something this important to her, we definitely want to show her that we respect her and her desires. So we’ve been catching ourselves, apologizing when we forget, and doing our best to be intentional about what we call her.
How do you show your kids you respect them?
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Susan says
I allow my children to have an opinion, even though it may differ from my own. I do not disqualify their input, but sometimes have to remind them the correct way to share their feelings with others. Giving my children the chance to make choices and even make the wrong choices is important – even though it is hard to watch sometimes.
Jennifer says
Great advice, Susan. It’s hard for me to sit back and watch her make what I think is the wrong decision. We have been facing the “find a nice way to say that please” dilemma lately. But she seems to be getting the hang of it.