Obeying when Tired
My children require a lot of sleep. I have tried letting them go days with less sleep, and it is not pretty. For some reason they won’t sleep past 6:30 or 7, so staying up late is not compensated for in the morning. Likewise, our family’s schedule does not allow for bedtime any earlier than seven, unless someone is ill, so naps or at least quiet rest time are also a necessity for them to get sufficient rest, even though I have one child who is nearing the age of five. Incidentally, I am told regularly that she is too old to nap, but when I am tucking her in at nap time, she is usually rubbing her eyes and falling asleep while I sing to her. She still needs a nap.
One thing I have been thinking about as a parent is behavior and tiredness. For example, on Sunday afternoons, by the time we are home from church and lunch, my children are extremely tired. The drive home is typically torture, and getting through stories and songs and getting tucked in brings many instances of sassiness, crying, and downright disrespect.
Any other time of the day we do not tolerate this behavior, but I find myself excusing it when they are tired. Then, when I excuse it, I find it creeping into other times of the day when they are not tired. So, I am left wondering, what is a person to do when trying to parent biblically?
I see in the Bible that we are not given a verse that says, “Obey and honor the Lord at all times, except when you are tired.” As a mature Christian, I am to obey God, even when I don’t feel well or am tired. Ultimately I am teaching my children to obey their earthly authorities so they will learn to obey their God someday. But, at the same time, they are little, and they are tired. I know I struggle with my reactions and attitude when I am tired.
For now, I am still thinking on it. Outright disrespect or disobedience I am dealing with, but some of the sassiness I have been letting slide. I am also going to work on modeling proper behavior. With all that has happened in the last month and my own less-than-ideal emotional state some days, I haven’t been modeling good responses to my children, and that is wrong on my part. So, modeling proper responses to others, even when tired, and nipping disrespect and pure disobedience in the bud are my two goals for now. Hopefully after Christmas when our lives get back to our own crazy version of “normal,” I can spend a bit more time thinking about this and discussing it with Tim.
One thing I have been thinking about as a parent is behavior and tiredness. For example, on Sunday afternoons, by the time we are home from church and lunch, my children are extremely tired. The drive home is typically torture, and getting through stories and songs and getting tucked in brings many instances of sassiness, crying, and downright disrespect.
Any other time of the day we do not tolerate this behavior, but I find myself excusing it when they are tired. Then, when I excuse it, I find it creeping into other times of the day when they are not tired. So, I am left wondering, what is a person to do when trying to parent biblically?
I see in the Bible that we are not given a verse that says, “Obey and honor the Lord at all times, except when you are tired.” As a mature Christian, I am to obey God, even when I don’t feel well or am tired. Ultimately I am teaching my children to obey their earthly authorities so they will learn to obey their God someday. But, at the same time, they are little, and they are tired. I know I struggle with my reactions and attitude when I am tired.
For now, I am still thinking on it. Outright disrespect or disobedience I am dealing with, but some of the sassiness I have been letting slide. I am also going to work on modeling proper behavior. With all that has happened in the last month and my own less-than-ideal emotional state some days, I haven’t been modeling good responses to my children, and that is wrong on my part. So, modeling proper responses to others, even when tired, and nipping disrespect and pure disobedience in the bud are my two goals for now. Hopefully after Christmas when our lives get back to our own crazy version of “normal,” I can spend a bit more time thinking about this and discussing it with Tim.
Comments