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Immaturity Times Two

It's not an uncommon event. With 3 children 10 and under, immaturity happens quite frequently in my house. My wife would be quick to add that said immaturity is not limited to the 10 and under crowd. Oh well. Here's what happened;

My 8-year old son, Luke, was just making noise in his younger sister's general direction. This happens a lot, but this time it was at the dinner table, always a precarious time with children without the need for further distractions. My wife was bringing over his second helping of food and suggested he put some in his mouth and stop annoying his sister.

My oldest daughter, Jacie, then aptly commented, 'He'll just talk with food in his mouth.'

I hated to admit it, but she was totally right. Even as he screamed in protest, I could see some of his first helping still in his mouth. Seriously, we're working on him. I'm sure after 8 more years of teaching him table manners, he may be presentable to other people. But then again, I could be wrong.

The bigger issue here was how I was going to parent this situation. Was Jacie correct in what she said? Yeah. Did it need to be said? Maybe not. On the other hand, how was I to point out to Luke, again, that other people noticed his shortcomings as well?

This was a teachable moment for two kids at the same time. For Luke, it was letting him know that manners are noticed, not just by his mom, but by many. For Jacie, it was noting that just because something was true did not mean it needed to be said.

Two kids, two truths and a whole lot of whining to get it all solved. Ah, the joys of parenting. 
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