Ethan is spoilt.
Yeah, I know that's no news to you.
I admit it,
I spoil him.
Utterly.
A few months ago,
everytime we'd go out,
Ethan would want something.
Toy Story soap,
a transformer,
a plastic dinosaur.
Didn't matter.
He felt the need to have something
each and everytime we went out.
Over Christmas,
he opened present at home.
Then Santa brought him presents in Cape Town.
And yet,
he still wanted stuff.
It really bothered me.
Temper tantrums would occur.
Seriously!
The boy is 5.
Aren't tantrums suppose to end?
I cleaned out some old clothes and toys.
He was not happy that I was giving away a toy he'd played with
once since receiving it six months ago.
Another tantrum appeared.
Ethan and I had a chat.
We actually had many chats.
The main idea,
was everytime he wanted something new,
he'd have to give away something old.
A couple of weeks ago,
we cleaned his box of Legos.
He had a huge box with big and small Lego.
We separated them.
I asked if he was willing to give the large Lego away.
NO!
He hasn't played with the large Lego since.
This week,
Ethan received the Lego Sort and Store.
The plastic bag carrying all his Lego was annoying me.
We placed his Lego in.
He loves it.
I then asked,
"So Ethan, what's the deal when you get something new?"
"I have to play with it?"
Gotta love the attitude.
"Aren't you also suppose to give something away?"
I expected a pout or argument.
I got none.
Ethan agreed,
that since he's got a great new storing case for his small Lego,
and he no longer plays with his big Lego pieces,
we could give the whole basket of large Lego pieces to Mary
for her children.
No arguments.
I'm so proud he learnt a lesson.
2 comments:
Something we used to do is have them donate like-new toys to another child who isn't as fortunate. We did this through our church, but there are other avenues. And it makes them realize that not everyone is so blessed and also gives them the good feeling of making someone else happy.
=)
I think kids nowdays get too many "things" and they don't really appreciate them like we used to. Sue can tell you that they never had a lot of toys when they were growing up and they only got two or three nice toys for Christmas. I had five kids and they were definitely not spoiled. Today, it seems like kids are not happy unless they have the same toys that all their friends have.
I think it is great that you are teaching Ethan that sometimes it is more blessed to give than to receive. It can really be exciting for kids to give other kids that are less fortunate something that they might not have, especially when they can do it personally............lots more rewarding than just giving it to some charitable organization.
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