Recorder

So Jace found this piece of our old train table. It was the depot, originally, and it has a recorder on it. He has been carrying it around with him everywhere and recording snippets of conversations.

His own, his sister's, mine.

He's gotten pretty sneaky about it, and let me tell you...it's been an enlightening experience.

A lot of what he's been recording has been coached; he may end up being a director, or an actor, or maybe just bossy. He came running up to me and told me "Say 'I love you Jace, but Stop Recording!' and then I'll say 'Okay!' Okay?"

So I did, and he did, and then he ran around the house playing it and laughing his head off. I have no idea why it was funny, but it was funny to him. He gave his sister little scripts to act out. They've barely touched another toy today.

But aside from the planned recordings, he would just sneak around and quietly tape things. The things he caught on that recorder are making me think.

There's a fine line between a firm voice and a mean one. There's a fine line between admonishing a child for a good reason and just being annoyed with their actions.

It was a good thing, for me to hear that sometimes my voice sounds too sharp, that I am possibly too quick to correct.

Luckily, there were also many times he caught us being silly, laughing, giggling. He caught cute, lovely moments at home with his brother and sisters, and they loved listening to them.

Those recordings were little snippets of our life these days. Laughing, playing, disciplining...such is life with young kids. Correction is necessary part of raising children to be obedient and respectful...my kids thrive on limits and routine. I love seeing my kids begin to learn empathy and understanding, begin to make the shift between doing things because I told them do and doing them because they know what's right.

I love raising my kids. I have loved the toddler years, but I am really looking forward to the age coming up for me...the age where my kids become cognitive thinkers, where heart change happens instead of correction by me, where my kids hearts and minds grow strong and they learn to stand by their own ethical and moral beliefs. Of course, I really, really hope that they'll end up standing by what I've taught them.

This is such a fun ride...I might could do without being recorded all along the way by a train depot, though.