I heard an interesting statement the other day. A radio talk host was saying that at a young age boys are taught to control their aggression, but young girls aren't taught to restrain their emotions, which can be just as damaging as aggression.
I thought about it for a day or two and I see that here in America. We value being in touch with the emotional side of things, but aggression is seen as a bad character trait from men, especially toward women.
Thoughts?
Monday, November 2, 2009
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In disciplining children, we should discipline the heart primarily and the outward behavior secondarily. So if a boy's aggression spills out of a heart full of anger and pride, we should teach the boy what God says about anger and how we're called to love others and put them before ourselves.
ReplyDeleteIf a girl (or boy for that matter) starts crying and pouting because she didn't get the toy she wanted, we should discipline the selfish and unthankful heart well before we address the crying and pouting.
But boys are naturally more physical, tactile, energetic and rambunctious than girls. And girls are created as more emotional beings than boys. Neither is wrong, but the sinful overflow of the heart is what needs addressing before we address behavior.