Well, I certainly hate to be a disappointment to any segment of my valued readership (such as I do and such as it is) so in an attempt to
Speaking of language, this line is golden, “I love all those SUV's and minivans at my church. There are very few cars (and no bikes) there on sundays. And those good folks there are hearing the truth and following the Word.” This commenter is either the pastor or…well, maybe I can work personal responsibility in later.
To you other readers, the ones who come here for the absolutely laughable, amazingly liberal, totally refutable and utterly nonsensical thinking, strap on your strap-on-ables and try to survive to the end. Think of it as rooted rocky singletrack, if you know what I mean. I'm going to fire up the base and this could go multiple posts.
Freshly published and found on the internets:
QUESTION: What would you say to my husband and me? We are disciplining our kids far too much. Is there another way to encourage them to cooperate?Hmm...
DR DOBSON: The best way to get children to do what you want is to spend time with them before disciplinary problems occur -- having fun together and enjoying mutual laughter and joy. When those moments of love and closeness happen, kids are not as tempted to challenge and test the limits. Many confrontations can be avoided by building friendships with your kids and thereby making them want to cooperate at home. It sure beats anger as a motivator of little ones!
(…to be continued…)
13 comments:
I could probably do a whole post about Dobson, but let's just say that at recent Lifelight Festivals I realize how "out there" he is. It's nice to know there are other "liberal Christians" out there. Of course...in their eyes (and OF COURSE they are right) we are not "true" Christians. /end rant
I don't know that I agree with him. The quote comes across as love your kids so much that you don't have to discipline them. I've found that my kids just want attention. That's it. If I give them attention, they are obedient (generally). If I don't give them attention they will get my attention by being dissobedient. It's effective, they get my attention, but whose fault is it that they're being dissobedient?
Surly we all agree that the time and attention that we give our children is a very valuable investment.
Even Liberal Non-Christians know this.
Love your kids. Be a parent and a friend.
It takes a man to be a Dad.
did anyone think this fan/commenter/biker/could resist this post?
Me thinks, like any human, the much credentialed Dobson, is complex in his ways (and advice) of dealing with things, especially when it comes to our children. I respect Dr.Dobson and have been a subsciber/fan/follower of advice of his for over twenty years.
One must take all of his advice into account, with his experience and expertise. His faith aside, he is amazingly on target with raising kids. Some could read some of his advice and come to the conclusion that he advocates child abuse (he approves of limited 'spanking') gasp!
But, my children are grown, and I (myself coming out of a not particularly healthy home childhood environment), see in hindsight know that Dobson is one of the best resources in raising my kids. They have become the most amazing people they now are. So, I will not take part in any Dobson bashing. au contraire! end rant
I guess I should "re-classify" my comments about Dobson to say that I found his speech (which for the most part WAS very good) way too politically motivated as was much of Lifelight that year (election year). It really kind of put me off. Most speakers were good that year, including Dobson, but to go on and on about the elections (and the need to vote for a "real Christian") really seemed unnecessary.
As far as my kids...you can ask them about how I go out of my way to spend time with them so if any of you are trying to play that card with me..don't.. It doesn't mean my kids don't do braindead things once in awhile that don't deserve some degree of punishment.
See "Minuscar", this is why I stay away from most contorversial things on my blog...always starts a war. Doesn't mean certain things don't get my blood boiling though ;-)
BB - I think it's obvious from my blog that I have much the same reaction to Dobson that you do by your first comment.
Your second comment is a fine reclassification and clarified that you are reacting to his appearance at LifeLight. My understanding is you are in good company with that reaction...and of course, there are plenty of people who see it differently.
SA - you are a smart guy. You parent deliberately and you are a deliberate parent. You are a graduate student and approach things intellectually, as you did here. Excellent.
Eayste - I think you've tapped into a universal truth.
PS - I appreciate your perspective and your written support of him..and me.
Interesting note - in these comments there are at least 5 minor children represented. Of those five I'm pretty sure four of them are boys and all of them are under...ummm...8?
I think it is cool that all you dads are so involved. The best thing for those boys is their dad, role model and buddy. Sounds like you guys have a good grasp on that. The toughest thing is keeping the dad (authority) position always superior to the 'buddy' thing. (just a little 'been there done that' unsolicited advice.) I think it is easy to differeniate Dobson's teachings on parenting and his politics. That was my only point.
Shutterbug...you are right, it is easy to distinguish his "message" from his politics. If I would have thought more on my first post, I wouldn't have set off such fevered pitch and I apologize. Sometimes I shoot off the top of my head a little too quick. It isn't the first time it's got me in trouble and I'm sure it won't be the last.
For the record on kids: boy 10, girl 8, boy 3. 2 brothers, 4 nephews, one niece. Moderately male dominated :-)
I too am proud of all the "Dads" out there. I'm sure that's why I read so many of your blogs. Nice to see...
hehe...no prob, but i'm a girl...the 'been there done that" quote, created an ASSumption.... sorry, not you... on my part only...
anyhoo... hey MR MC.... that little 'issue' I had with my postings.....i can now do the 'link' thingie..... yippeee... its cool, i just figgered it out tonight as my most recent post on my site will show. thanks for the help...(i love copy&paste!)
....simple minds... simple pleasures....
Just for kicks I'll add 3 more boys to the mix of those represented.
Woot! Noel - all under 8, correct?
My boys are 5, 3 and 1.
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