The real reason

Jordan likes to play his video games, and that's all right, I guess. I would, too, if I were him. But sometimes I like to get his nose out of them. And here's where I forgot to ask a question.

Getting ready for church this morning, I tell Jordan to turn off his game and get his shoes on. He says he wants to take the game with him, but I say, no, turn it off for a while. He disappears for a few seconds, returns, and says Mommmy said he could take the game.

I let it go. Not a battle worth waging. Especially when I tried being heavy-handed in demanding no game. After I had time to think about the situation, I figured out what had gone wrong: I'd demanded he do what I say without explaining the reason. And when he went over my head, I was too upset to think about the real reason I wanted him to turn off the game.

If I'd explained to him in the first place that the reason I wanted the game off was so he and I could talk. I like to hear his feelings and thoughts, and if I'd told him that, you know the game would have been off in a second. Or maybe his "thought" at that moment would have been that he'd rather play the game.