I have been reading quite a bit about the Duggar family (with 17 children, I believe) and have been so impressed with their values. One motto they use is "JOY: Jesus, Others, You!" We'll have joy when we place importance on people in that order. So, I taught it to my kids and brought it up at every convenience (dinner table, car rides, play time . . . you get the idea).
One day, near Easter, Ivy left the table first and was playing "Easter Bunny" in the living room adjacent to the living room. She had a basket on her arm and was hiding plastic eggs and then finding them and plunking them in the basket. She was completely entertained and satisfied. Well, then, her brother finished eating and decided to join in the fun . . . his way. He wanted to hide all the eggs and then let her find them. She wanted to "find" them the moment he hid them and, as she was right on his heels, it was an easy thing to do. So Cooper decided to block her from finding them immediately by spreading his arms and legs out and sashaying back and forth to keep her from the treasure. They were both frustrated by the other's lack of cooperation!
I addressed Cooper. "Cooper, do you want to feel joy?" "Remember, how to feel joy." I repeated this a few times, in slightly different versions. He never took his eyes off his sister or stopped his physical blocking strategy. Her screams grew shriller. I tried again. "Cooper, do you want to have joy?"
This time it was Ivy who answered at the top of his lungs. "I DO! BUT HE WON'T LET ME!"
One day, near Easter, Ivy left the table first and was playing "Easter Bunny" in the living room adjacent to the living room. She had a basket on her arm and was hiding plastic eggs and then finding them and plunking them in the basket. She was completely entertained and satisfied. Well, then, her brother finished eating and decided to join in the fun . . . his way. He wanted to hide all the eggs and then let her find them. She wanted to "find" them the moment he hid them and, as she was right on his heels, it was an easy thing to do. So Cooper decided to block her from finding them immediately by spreading his arms and legs out and sashaying back and forth to keep her from the treasure. They were both frustrated by the other's lack of cooperation!
I addressed Cooper. "Cooper, do you want to feel joy?" "Remember, how to feel joy." I repeated this a few times, in slightly different versions. He never took his eyes off his sister or stopped his physical blocking strategy. Her screams grew shriller. I tried again. "Cooper, do you want to have joy?"
This time it was Ivy who answered at the top of his lungs. "I DO! BUT HE WON'T LET ME!"
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