Title: Only Tell Them Once
One day in 1961, Julie was crawling across the den floor to the unscreened open fireplace.
My grandmother, Gertrude Jorrie, exclaimed:
“Bobby, she is going to crawl in the fire and get burned!”
“If she does, grandmother,” I said “2 things will happen:
1. She’ll burn her finger and she’ll learn that when I tell her not to do something that I have a reason for it, and
2. She will learn that whenever I have something to say too her, that I will only tell her 1 time.”
What this Means to Me:
The purpose of parental communication with a child is to actually communicate something
and that communication can be accomplished by a single speaking …
Repetitious Warnings communicate NOTHING EXTRA.
In fact, Repetitious Warnings can actually be Destructive,
in that they train a child “not to respond” until a parent speaks multiple times.
Thus, I think it is wise to teach a child, (or people, in general)
that when you speak to them,
that you will only tell them “1 time.”
Thus, you teach them to “Pay Attention”
every time you speak.
Robert Jorrie,
1991