Have you
ever had to turn the tables on your child? When my son went to visit Granny, a
squatter took over his bedroom. That squatter was me. According to Wikipedia, a
squatter is “an informal name for a trespasser; a person who lives upon
premises owned by another person, without the owner’s permission.” When my son
Joshua found out I spent time in his room, he felt like his space had been invaded.
When my
older son spent a week on a college tour, Joshua took over his bedroom. Joshua
slept in his brother’s room every night, played video games and even ate snacks
where he was not supposed to. This invasion of space was not the first incident
for Joshua. On occasion I’ve discovered signs that he had relaxed in my space-
a sock, a crumpled shirt or an empty soda can.
I took
advantage of a teachable moment and turned the tables on my son. I took over
his bedroom. It was scary at first, I didn’t know what I would find in there. I
found exactly what I thought I would - clean clothes that needed to be put
away, books that needed to be shelved and empty candy wrappers. My son needed
to learn about respecting other people’s space as well as taking care of his
own.
In this time
of high technology, I had my older son take a photo of us in Joshua’s room and
I texted it to him. Shortly after sending the text I received a phone call
saying, “Why are you in my room?” My explanation of respect began.
Below are
helpful tips I found on teaching kids to respect their space and the space of
others:
1. I can make my bed and tidy my room
each morning.
2. I can make sure my dirty laundry
makes it into the appropriate place.
3. I can make sure I throw away food
garbage and clean up dishes in my room before I go to bed.
4. I will not walk into the rooms of
others without regard for the reason and effect.
5. I will respond respectfully if others
ask me for space.
6. I will remember that someone else’s
need for space does not mean they do not want to be around me.
These tips
were taken from the Busy Buzzing Mom blog. Click here for a complete list of
tips.
What tips do
you have for teaching your child about respecting another person’s space or
their own?
Such a wise post, Angela. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI guess the one thing I teach my kids is to knock and wait to be invited before entering someone else's room. It doesn't always work though. :)
Yes Linda...knock AND wait are key. My son will knock and enter at the same time. lol
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.
Those are great tips. I'll have to share them with my kids.
ReplyDelete