We’ve noticed among our children that some are more attentive to what is going on than others, and we have at least one child who can be so focused on what he is doing that he sometimes ignores all other stimuli. Still, we hold the same standard for everyone, whatever their personality — it just means that some children have to work harder to remain attentive than others.

Sometimes I will call my children in a soft voice when I want to give them a treat, and those who come, get the treat (as I mentioned above). I’ve found this to be a very effective way to build and reward attentiveness in my children. Conversely, if I have to call a child three or more times, whether because they have music playing too loudly in their room, or because they don’t come quickly when I call, they usually have to do pushups when they do finally arrive. Then I send them away and call them again.

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27). Without wanting to be presumptuous, as a father, I stand as a shadow of Christ in the lives of my children, and I think it is reasonable for them to be able to hear and attend to my voice across a crowded, noisy room or in the far reaches of a house.

Fundamentally, I seek to foster an environment in which my children love and trust me enough that they know when I call them, it is for their good or for the good of the family. Often I will call one child and three will respond, because they love me and seek to please me.

Once they were able to read, I would gift them each week with books from the book store that I picked out and read previously. Anything from Sonlight 2 Advanced or from the Authors of those books were great. I would give them a choice of 5 good books and a few books a little below their level. I’ve noticed that it really gives the kids confidence if they go back to read easier books, especially at night. They are tired and sometimes don’t want a challenging read, just something fun.

Once they are good readers then I just give them 5 good books to choose from. Something that will capture their interest and keep them wanting more even when it’s time to go to sleep. I love it when the kids beg for 5 more minutes.LOL It means that they’ve really developed a love for reading.

HTH!

Lisa in Jax

Even though it feels like dog training, who among us wouldn’t want our children even more responsive and responsible than our dogs? It’s not about making our jobs easier (even though that’s a plus); it’s about raising great kids.

Thanks for sharing!

When my older kids were just learning to read, we would gift them with an extra hour at night where they were allowed to stay up and read. We kept a small basket with books that were easy under their beds, that would give them practice and had lots of pictures in them to look at. Then they were allowed to stay up in their bed and read for an extra hour each night. If we heard talking, the lights went out early but they always felt so grown up being able to stay up that extra hour AND their love of reading came naturally through that extra time.

Blessings,

Lisa in Jax

The Littles (our new kids) are easy…I just need to say “food”! LOL Maybe the novelty of that will eventually wear off and your idea is so much better.

We’ll be trying this idea.