The sure fire way to teach your child to gossip is to gossip. Even unintentionally. I can hear you now: me? No! I don't gossip! I know because I say the same. If asked if I am a gossip, I would say certainly not!
Until I heard my kids talking about someone. I was shocked by what they knew and what they were saying. Yet before I could open my mouth to say something to them, I remembered my husband and I talking about this in the car. With the kids present. Ugh, me and my big mouth!
My husband and I were not intentionally gossiping, we were discussing a situation brought to us that we needed to deal with. Our mistake was talking about it in front of the kids. We should have talked about it in private. Children do not understand adult conversations and situations, all they understand is that we are talking about someone. Then they learn that behavior.
Husbands and wives should be able to openly and honestly discuss situations. My personal opinion is that this is not gossip, if it is done with a pure heart. We should be able to vent to our husband when something is wrong or we are frustrated. We should share our concerns about a situation or person with our husband. We should talk and work through issues that arise. These are good things. Communication in marriage is so important.
While communication is vital to marriage and we should be able to discuss things with our husband, we need to do it in private. My husband and I usually discuss things while he is in the shower or in the stillness of the night when the kids are asleep. Children, teens included, do not need to hear some of the deep things that we discuss. If Jane told you that her and John are having troubles in their marriage, yes tell your husband so that the two of you can pray for them. But tell him in private. If Mary confided in you that they may lose their home, yes tell your husband so that the two of you can pray. But tell him in private.
If a child overhears they will not understand and they could misinterpret the situation or it could even scare them. You may think they are not listening when you are talking, but they are hearing your words.
If you want to keep your child from being a gossip, watch what you say.
Are you and your husband careful to discuss important matters away from the kids?
It is time for our Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesday Link Up. We desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories in their comments.
Use the hashtag #w2wwordfilledwednesday!
Three rules to this link up:
1. Must be a {Christian} faith post.
2. You must link back to W2W somewhere in your post.
3. You must visit and comment on at least one other blog in the link up.
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Until I heard my kids talking about someone. I was shocked by what they knew and what they were saying. Yet before I could open my mouth to say something to them, I remembered my husband and I talking about this in the car. With the kids present. Ugh, me and my big mouth!
My husband and I were not intentionally gossiping, we were discussing a situation brought to us that we needed to deal with. Our mistake was talking about it in front of the kids. We should have talked about it in private. Children do not understand adult conversations and situations, all they understand is that we are talking about someone. Then they learn that behavior.
Husbands and wives should be able to openly and honestly discuss situations. My personal opinion is that this is not gossip, if it is done with a pure heart. We should be able to vent to our husband when something is wrong or we are frustrated. We should share our concerns about a situation or person with our husband. We should talk and work through issues that arise. These are good things. Communication in marriage is so important.
While communication is vital to marriage and we should be able to discuss things with our husband, we need to do it in private. My husband and I usually discuss things while he is in the shower or in the stillness of the night when the kids are asleep. Children, teens included, do not need to hear some of the deep things that we discuss. If Jane told you that her and John are having troubles in their marriage, yes tell your husband so that the two of you can pray for them. But tell him in private. If Mary confided in you that they may lose their home, yes tell your husband so that the two of you can pray. But tell him in private.
If a child overhears they will not understand and they could misinterpret the situation or it could even scare them. You may think they are not listening when you are talking, but they are hearing your words.
If you want to keep your child from being a gossip, watch what you say.
Are you and your husband careful to discuss important matters away from the kids?
It is time for our Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesday Link Up. We desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories in their comments.
Use the hashtag #w2wwordfilledwednesday!
Three rules to this link up:
1. Must be a {Christian} faith post.
2. You must link back to W2W somewhere in your post.
3. You must visit and comment on at least one other blog in the link up.
Ugh. Ouch. Guilty. Thank you for the reminder. I believe we all need to hear this!
ReplyDeleteWell, my kids are long grown up and out of the house, so I don't have to be careful to not speak about these things in front of them. But, that doesn't mean that I don't have to watch out that I don't gossip. I have found that I need to be careful when I talk to other women, especially in a Bible Study setting. Sometimes I am tempted to share something (that maybe I shouldn't) in the form of a prayer request. Which I must not do unless I've been given the OK by the people involved. Ya know?!
ReplyDeleteBut yes, I do cherish the ability to share with my husband any and all of it. I need him to get things off my chest. In private.
GOD BLESS!
*bows head* Yes, I am guilty of this as well. I need to remember that the children are getting older, and we need to discuss issues that have to get fixed when the kids are sleeping.
ReplyDelete