Dethatching
Dethatching is described as the process of removing dead stems that build up beneath lawn grasses.
When thinking of this in terms of raising our children, it can be seen as removing those bad habits that tend to grow from time to time that need removal from our child's life. This can be anything as simple as thumb sucking to cursing or bad attitudes developed by hanging around less than ideal peers. Sometimes even dangerous behaviors could fall into this category.
When our children begin to form these bad habits, it is easy to pass them off as "only a stage." Sometimes, however, these undesirable habits linger, prolonging themselves and forming patterns of unwanted behavior in our children.
Approaching our children in getting rid of bad habits is never easy. Some habits are more easily broken than others. Some take some time, patience and ingenuity in dethatching our child's life of such habits.
Some approaches may include incentives and rewards for waning indulgences, with the behavior getting less and less until it finally disappears. Other approaches may be loss of privileges until such behaviors are dropped. Sometimes drastic approaches, such as the taking away of many, or even all, privileges (depending on the age of the child and the appropriateness of such a measure) until behaviors and attitudes once again reach desired levels are in order. It could even be possible with teen aged children that have begun experimenting with dangerous behaviors that tough love or even intervention is necessary.
No matter what form dethatching takes in our child's life, it is at times a necessary step to make to keep our children heading on the path of becoming a contributing, healthy functioning adult. In the long run, this painful process of dethatching can serve our child, ourselves, and our society well.
