He doesn’t understand

John woke me up this morning, and asked me to open a Gatorade. It was 6 AM and I was NOT ready to get out of bed. I groggily opened his drink, rolled over and told him not to drink it in the bed. Because, he is prone to spill things, and that is not how I wanted to start my day. I worked on waking up, and laid in bed on my phone while he sat on the floor next to my bed playing learning games on his iPad. A few hours later, as I was finally getting ready to start my day I hear my son say “oh shit”. Now, whether or not my four year old should be allowed to swear is an argument I’ll never feel the need to have. But when I heard those words spill from his mouth, I sat up, ready to see the worst possible scenario. He was staring at the floor, where he had spilt bright red Gatorade all over the floor, soaking the pillow and blanket he had laid out on the floor. I could have gotten angry, it was a mess that I would have to clean up. But seeing the uncertainty on my sons face, I determined the best thing to do was smile and tell him it was okay. I laughed, because when I laugh he laughs and I think it’s important to find humor in little mistakes. I told him I loved him, I wasn’t angry and that he would have to clean up his mess. I told him I love him, and he gave me a hug and a kiss. I made sure he used a red towel to clean up the mess, to prevent staining even more laundry. When I choose to take this approach I am teaching my son that it is okay to make mistakes, and that when he does he can come to me. And I will always help him fix them. I have heard “why are you angry” and “do you hate me” come out of my sons mouth so many times when I yell at him. He doesn’t understand the change in tone yet, and it is unfair for him if I choose to raise my voice to get him to listen when there are other ways to encourage him. Remember, our children learn from us. It’s important that we teach them love.