Friday, August 3, 2007

Just Tell the Truth

We were really amazed one afternoon when both kids stayed the whole time in their room, playing. They didnt even bug me to turn on the tv which they normally do especially when I am preparing dinner. Since I got busy in the kitchen, I heard only their laughters and whispers. Seeing and hearing nothing wrong; I didnt take much notice, thinking it is just one of those days. And then came the papa.

He entered the living room and in a second, called for the girls. Something in his voice made me hurry to his side. I saw that something was really wrong -- our hanging lamp is hanging no more. The iron spring holding it was pulled and stretched until it touched the floor! It goes to say that the lamp would not be giving light in the living room from that moment on.

And the culprits? They refused to come and face the music. Nope. They continues playing as if they heard nothing. Pretending there was nothing wrong at all. If they wont come to us, we went to them.

We asked, 'what happened to the lamp in the living room?' No sound. We repeated, 'who did it?'. No answer. With four big eyes soulfully and guiltily trying to avoid meeting our eyes, we decided to talk seriously to them.

Here's what we told them:

We wanted to know what happened not because we were angry but because we wanted to clear things up. We stressed that we would be glad to know who did it because we wanted the truth. We expressed our sadness and disappointment for lying is not good and we dont want to be left ignorant of what was happening in the house, especially if it would involve repairs or keeping the house safe. We emphasized that telling the truth is very important; that telling the truth is healthy because you wont have to nervously wait for the verdict until you are discovered.

My eldest daughter was already nodding with understanding at this time; while the little one wanted to confess already. But before asking them to talk, we asked them to come to us and give us big hugs.

And then the confession: It was MC who pulled, encouraged and cheered on by IC. Thus, both guilty. After that little talk, we asked them how they feel. The answer was more eloquent than words: they jumped into our arms and gave us kisses and hugs. And with huge charming smiles, they said 'we will tell the truth, promise.'

Let's hope they've learned their lessons.

P.S. The lamp is working again, thanks to my husband's basic skills. It took him the whole evening though.

4 comments:

Christianne said...

Naku, buti na lang naayos ni hubby. And your girls learned an important lesson.

Heart of Rachel said...

You have a wonderful way of finding out the truth from your children. I think it really helps when you appear calm. I guess it is harder to find out the truth when children see their parents angry.

Anonymous said...

Your way of letting them spill the beans was really good. you have sweet kids ;)

raqgold said...

christianne -- we all learned something important; iba na talaga if you have kids e.

rach -- it is not easy to stay calm, but when we think of the effect that it would do to the kids, that makes it easier.

momoftwo -- we instinctively know what to do because we know our kids, too. as with kids, they can be sweet, they can be sour :-)