The following is a guest post written by Charity Hawkins, author of The Homeschool Experiment.
It was a late Wednesday night after church. I had planned to give my three kids a snack then send them immediately to brush their teeth and get ready for bed. My husband was working late, and I was ready to be done with the day.
Then my eight-year-old son asked if he could play “Jingle Bells,” for me on the piano, and I was so thrilled that he was finally excited about piano that I said yes. Then my six-year-old daughter begged to play. Of course, my three-year-old son wanted a turn next.
The minutes were ticking by and I thought, why did I ever agree to this anyway? We were an hour past bedtime already. I could feel my blood pressure rising. Then my son and daughter started bickering—one being bossy, the other whining. Nobody was listening to me.
“Stop it!” I snapped. Like a whip. “Go. Brush. Your. Teeth. You’re done.”
Eyes wide, the kids stared at me, frightened, then hurried to obey.
I won. But at what cost?
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