Kids Do The Darndest Things

 

Timi shows off her honor badge.

 

Kids have always been known to say the most amusing things in their cute little lives of innocence. I get a daily dosage of that from Timi, my little 3 year old. I’ve always taken time to study her mannerisms as she grew in order to understand her personality, her hobbies, her strengths and gifts. Her baby brother at 1 year and five months also has his own amusing mannerisms – this was even further amplified ever since he started walking.

 

 

Timi has this amusing habit of always asking for permission to always do almost anything even if it’s to pee or poop. (She can actually do it by herself without supervision). Timi would ask permission to drink the water you placed in front of her meal; she’d ask permission to wash her hands after eating; she’d ask permission to play with her toys which she’s free to play with anytime; she’d ask permission to even go to sleep! At some point I would always try to tell her that she needn’t ask me permission to do some of these things but as we know, small pikin no dey too hear word. She’d do it again and again. Wifey explained it off as Timi just being extra-careful not to overstep her bounds (Ha! She gets that from me!).

 

 

My Babygirl's Virtue Honor Badge

 

 

Then she came home today sporting a Virtue honors badge from school on her uniform. The honors badge is a periodical badge of honor given to pupils who excel in some aspect or behavior in the course of the week in school. Timi’s habit of not overstepping her bounds was obviously very noticeable in school; she turned out to be a well-behaved as a result thus earning her a Virtue badge.

 

I was so proud of her.

 

And I decided to stop trying to get her not to ask permission for the things that didn’t really require asking permission.

 

Raising up kids in today’s corrupted society with the magnitude of filth around and in the media is not so easy for any parent. You don’t know what your kids are learning and who they are mixing with when you’re not there. But whatever bit of positive behavior you notice surfacing in your child, it’s good to celebrate it and let them know you appreciate it. We try our best to expose Timi and her brother to only positive stuff and leave the rest to God when we’re not there. And we make sure that we appreciate her when she does something good.

We should never underestimate kids from the ages of 1 upwards; you’ll be surprised how these kids soak in stuff around you.

 

So when that kid does something cool, make a big deal of it. The aftermath can be very rewarding.