Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Quote of the day:
Anahi: I drank a whole knickerbocker of water.
Me: Do you even know what a knickerbocker is? They are those short pants that they used to wear in old-timey times.
Anahi: Did you were knickerbockers when you were a kid? Back in the 1980s?
This morning I went back to take pictures a the Orem Temple. I’m not sure if the light was right. I also went back to my special spot to see if Timp would look good, but it didn’t. The morning felt like kind of a bust, but we’ll see what the photos look like.
Then I came home and took Betty and River to play at Annie’s, and then I went for a run. While I was running I listened to The Optimal Work podcast, which is incredible. This week Dr. Majeres was talking about how to discipline children. He recommended a book called No Drama Discipline by Dan Siegel. I want to talk to the kids about the podcast, and I’d love to pick up the book. The main idea is that as parents we need to avoid being authoritarian or passive, but rather authoritative. It’s the same principle that’s taught in the church’s Strengthening the Family manual. We need to be firm in setting limits, but we also need to work hard to build bonds with our kids. It’s not easy, but it is the best way.
The church manual puts it like this:
Authoritative parents show the same high expectations for their children as authoritarian parents, but they also show a high degree of warmth and responsiveness. They are loving and supportive. As they guide their children, they “encourage verbal give and take and share with their children the reasoning behind their policies.” These parents “exert firm control at points of parent-child divergence but do not hem in their children with restrictions. Authoritative parents are demanding in that they guide their children’s activities firmly and consistently and require them to contribute to family functioning by helping with household tasks. They willingly confront their children in order to obtain conformity, state their values clearly, and expect their children to respect their norms.” In her studies over several decades, psychologist Diana Baumrind found that children raised in authoritative homes were most likely to be socially confident, friendly, self-disciplined, cooperative, and achievement oriented.
After my run, I was going to take the kids to seminary, but it was an early out day, and we missed it. So we went to Barnes and Noble instead. Everyone got books. Ian: Greek Mythology. Kimball: Michael Vey. Anahi: Unbroken. Alicia: a book on the holocaust. I hope they’ll read them ;)
While we were driving, I had a good talk with the kids about discipline that somehow turned into a talk about our country. The kids asked if there is any hope for us. I think there is -- but ultimately that hope comes from the Savior.
Then we got home and had some lunch, and the girls went with Grandpa to Wyoming to get Brooklyn.
In the afternoon the boys did a bunch of reading. That’s a win.
When I went to get River and Betty, River was not doing well. She really just tanked super fast. Betty was feeling really worried, and that made me feel worried, so we took her to the Instacare. When we got there they immediately put an O2 sensor on her, and it was low. So they sent us to the ER, where they also immediately put an O2 sensor on her, and she was totally fine and already looking better. After lots of swabs and a ton of bravery on River’s part, it turned out that she just has the flu.
After we came back, I went to Walmart and swung by the temple for more pictures. The light still wasn’t the best, but I did the best I could.
After that I took the older kids to a fireside with their cousins, and then Betty and I went for a 4 mile walk.
