Stuart Stotts says "Show them you love them a lot, and come up with a different choice!"
DIFFERENT CHOICE
Ricky and Clare are my kids
I watch them most of the week
Rick’s 5 and Clare’s 3, they’re always testing me
So I’ve had to learn some parent techniques.
I’ve listened to talk show advice
I’ve read books, and spoken with friends
If I took what I’ve learned from wherever I’ve turned
This is how it would condense.
Cho: Show them you love them a lot
Speak in a moderate voice
Tell them specifically what you don’t like
And come up with a different choice
So if Ricky is pulling Clare’s hair,
Or Clare steals a toy from Rick’s box
I ask them to quit, and together we sit
At the table to listen and talk.
Cho: I try to show them I love them a lot
I speak in a moderate voice
I tell them specifically what I don’t like
And we come up with a different choice.
Brg1: Some days we do that a lot
That’s my job as a Dad
I wish we were perfect but we’re not
It usually works out, ... not too bad.
Yesterday Rick broke a rule
He tried to stuff a balloon in his mouth
I yelled at him “Drop it, or I’m going to pop it!
And every balloon in this house!”
Rick looked a little bit stunned.
He dropped that balloon right away
But later that night before I turned out the light
He said, “Dad I’ve got something to say.”
“Well I know that you love me a lot
But I’m frightened when you raise your voice
It felt really bad when you yelled at me Dad,
You could have made a different choice.”
Brg2: I knew that Ricky was right.
I wondered just what to do.
Whatever your parenting’s like,
It’s bound to come back to you
Cho: So I show them I love them a lot
I speak in a moderate voice
I tell them specifically what I don’t like,
And we come up with a different choice
Cho: I try to show them I love them a lot
And speak in a moderate voice
And if I forget and get really upset, ...
They might help me make a different choice!
Written by Stuart Stotts, ©1993 Cerisacal Music (BMI)
on Camping With Dads ~ peteralsop.com ~ stuartstotts.com