Tattle-tails are a pain in my tail: Part II
As I explained in Part I, in my eyes, tattle-tails are no-good. When Michael reaches that age/stage where tattling becomes the thing to do, I plan on using a few different approaches to strongly discourage further tattling. I really can’t stand it; it’s nagging to my ears and I don’t want tattling going on with my children.
My sister-in-law says that if there’s not blood or someone is not seriously being hurt from the deed done, she doesn’t want to hear about it. She encourages her eight children to “fix their relationship” with their siblings, involve no one else other than the persons involved, and don’t bring the issue to her for a resolution. She gave her children guidance on how to do this properly, but now stays out of it. Reminders are sometimes needed though. If she sees that there is still resentment between two children, she’ll repeat her demand until it’s done.
Another way of dealing with tattle-tails is to punish the child who tattles on another with the consequence that is deserved for the original deed. I actually LOVE this approach! Not every “offense” (if you want to call misbehaving an offense) is created equal, and I already have specific consequences in place for Michael if he behaves a certain way. This is actually empowering to children because they choose their fate: misbehave and they know exactly what is in store for them.
I want to promote loyalty to one another among my children. In my eyes, family comes first and I don’t want to condone tattling in our family. What do you think of tattle-tails? How will you deal with tattling?
