Word Picture (Part 1)

Today my son refused to give kisses to my eldest daughter. This has started becoming a common thing. I think he sees it as a game even though I've talked to him about hurting her feelings. My parents had recommended giving him a word picture. How would he feel if I didn't kiss him or want him to kiss me? Well, I asked him that question again today to which he said (as he usually does), "I wouldn't care. I would just go play." Usually that is when I start emploring him to think about it but today I decided to do something different.

I said, "Well, if you wouldn't care, then I think we'll do an experiment today. I won't kiss you or let you kiss me for the rest of today." He exploded into tears. I pulled him close to me and asked him why he was crying. He said, "That means you won't tuck me in tonight." I told him that I would still tuck him in but that we just wouldn't kiss. He stopped crying but seemed to be thinking about all this. I told him that I loved him but that I wanted him to see how his actions make Little Miss feel.

So we parted and went on about our day. I was doing our Read Aloud and we were all snuggling. He looked at me after we were finished and I could tell that he wanted to lean over for a kiss but knew that he couldn't. I smiled at him and kept busy. He sat for a few minutes and it seemed that he was really contemplating it. I am hoping that this day will help him be compassionate. I don't believe that anyone should be forced to give affection but I do believe they should understand how withholding it can hurt someone. I hope he's "getting" it because frankly, I think this experiment is harder on Mommy than it is on him!