“Integrity is the ability to listen to a place inside oneself that doesn’t change, even though the life that carries it may change.” – Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man
My 6-year-old daughter asked me yesterday if stealing was bad. I told her it was always wrong and then tried to illustrate it with the example of us going to the store to buy groceries and then coming out and finding our car was stolen. How would we feel? Would that be okay? She countered, “But then we could just walk home.”
I agreed with her resourcefulness and then tried another example. “What if someone stole our Halloween decorations we just put up this weekend?” “That”, she emphatically agreed, “would be so, so bad! You can’t just go around taking other people’s Halloween decorations!”
Which reminded me that while our values don’t change, stories need to be tailored to the audience. 😊
Surprised By Joy 
Well said.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Michael!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I love this and so true! It’s all about the context relevant to your loved ones. I chuckle as I remember losing my patience with T over a simple math question. So I phrased it in terms of Christmas. He answered it correctly right away. 😆
Beautiful Halloween decorations by the way. You’re so organized. We still have to get a pumpkin. 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, that’s brilliant!! By the way, have you read Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen? The playfulness with which you describe parenting T reminds me of the great strategies and fun of the book.
We don’t have a pumpkin yet either. It was nice out this weekend so it seemed like a good time to get the box of decorations out so we weren’t putting them up in the rain. Which I’m sure my kids would have loved but I would have found less fun! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I bet your kids love having Halloween arrive so early this year! 😊
Thanks for the heads up re: Lawrence Cohen book. I have not heard about it but am curious to check it out now!
LikeLiked by 2 people