One thing I did differently was listen. Instead of jumping to conclusions and raising hell at the kids, I'd question and listen.
My parents always grounded me after I was about 10 yrs old, if I was in trouble I was grounded and I did still get some spankings even well after I was a teenager. I never grounded BJ from anything that I can remember, his punishment was always work. Be it digging holes, or filling the hole, or moving the dirt from one place to another in the yard. Sometimes I'd have him drive nails in wood just to pull them out the next time. Whatever his punishment it was always something he could do alone, so he could think about what he was in trouble for. Suprisingly he has great work ethics and loves to work.
The greatest compliment a parent could have came 7 yrs ago BJ's girlfriend asked me how old was he when I got him. I said 6 or 7 on the weekends and holidays and all summer and 11 or 12 when he came to live here. She said, "He adores you". So maybe I did do something right.
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Yeah so what if I'm triple dipped in awesome sauce?
The best way to predict the future, is to create it.
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