Col 3:21 - Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart.
Given the amount of teasing that all of us as a family participate in, this might be a surprise comment. Your mom and I intentionally did not tease with you all until you were old enough to understand teasing. We also were careful to not tease each other too much in your presence when you were younger.
Establishing and ensuring a comforting, secure, safe, and loving home for your family is key and since younger kids can’t differentiate between reality and teasing not only can teasing convey the wrong message to their understanding of themselves and relationship with your family, it distorts what are acceptable and unacceptable interactions with others outside the family.
Your grandparents have a case in point where your uncle (aka Jack) referred to one of his elementary school teachers by a teasing name your Mee-mee and Paw-paw used with him, which resulted in him getting in trouble in school (perhaps one of them can add some clarity to this story).
The challenge? When is it good and when is it bad to tease? Refer to the prior post – each situation, child, etc. needs its own answer. Besides, your kids will be adults much longer than they’re children, and as such will have lots of time for fun teasing and kidding around. As you can attest to.
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Very good and Godly advice. There is a marketing theme called "Age
ReplyDeleteappropriate. You see the labeling on toys and books and games. It
means that children younger than the stated age won't understand the
subject. As stated teasing needs "age appropriate labeling".
This advice Dad gives is timeless and valuable. And there will be many
more years as adults that you can tease with your off springs. But
NEVER let it be demeaning.