The Wisdom of A Duggar

Have I mentioned how much I love the Duggars? They are fascinating to me. The way they have managed to raise nineteen kids that all love the Lord and each other is inspiring to me. Not one of those kids is rebellious or disrespectful. They are kind and hard-working. They never complain. But what amazes me the most is that Jim Bob and Michelle rarely spank or discipline their kids. Or even raise their voices. At least not on camera. Instead, they encourage and praise them for the right choices they make. They believe that praising positive behavior is just as valuable as correcting bad behavior. And because the praises feel so much better than the correcting, they have found that their kids respond better to that than constant correction.

I haven't had many situations where I have needed to correct Beatrice. There has been the occasional fingers going for the electrical socket crisis, but after a stern "no, no, no," we move on and "discipline" is over. Except now she totally wags her little finger back at me and says "nah, nah, nah." Stinker. But even without many opportunities to correct, I already know that I am quick to discipline. It's probably due to the way that my parents raised us. There was little opportunity for second offenses with them. You screw up, you got spanked. And while I do remember getting praised and encouraged for doing right, I remember the spankings way more which leads me to believe that it happened a lot. Probably more than the praises.

I think the Duggars are on to something. They must know what they are doing since all nineteen of their children are well-behaved, kind and respectful. So once again, I find myself asking "what would Michelle Duggar do?" I am striving to be meek and soft spoken and a good example of a godly woman to my daughter. And for me, that starts with less moments of losing my temper and more moments of encouraging everyone in my home when they do good. I'm a work in progress. But I think Michelle Duggar would applaud my efforts. Or at the very least, encourage me in my endeavor.