"Don't Make Me Count to Three!"

I just finished re-reading Ginger Plowman's book, "Don't Make Me Count to Three!" I first read it several years ago when Austin was a baby, but I wanted to read it again now that he is older. If you have heard of Tedd Tripp's book, Shepherding a Child's Heart, Ginger Plowman's book is similar in theory. As a mom, though, she gives great practical parenting advice in addition to laying out the biblical justifications for disciplining children.

For any of you with toddlers and preschool aged children, I would highly recommend reading this book. Her basic idea is that when your child does something foolish (disobedience or any other sin), you should use the Bible to reprove them (tell them what they did wrong and why), and then you should administer the rod (spanking, etc.) You should also make them go back to the scene of the crime and act out how they should have behaved. She gives good examples of how she has done this in her own home.

Ginger Plowman also created something called Wise Words for Mom, which is a kind of chart that tells you what scriptures to use when disciplining your children. This helps you address the heart issues of sin instead of just the outward behavior. I admit that I need to do this more with Austin. Since he is older and better able to understand things, I need to start giving him biblical reasons for why I want him to obey, be nice to his brother, etc. I guess that is one of the things I hope to improve upon in 2011.