As most of you know, we have seven children and we homeschool most of them. This makes for a very active and many times very loud home. Up until recently it didn't really bother me, this is just how it is when you have seven children. However, I think I was simply making an excuse for myself. When I sat back and just listened, I noticed some bad habits that our family had gotten into which clearly made our home louder.
First, is the intense need for everyone in our family to sing and/or play an instrument. I actually love all the Praise music that fills our home, but our children need to remember that the bands on the radio and the worship band at church have microphones. We don't need to be as loud as the last Skillet concert when we are playing at home. We are now asking that all "band" concerts take place in 2 specific area of the home.
The second thing I noticed was the strange "need" to make senseless noises. When sitting and observing the family, it came to my attention that almost every person makes senseless noise as they move about the house. Some are humming, some are clicking, and other are just making sounds. I have made an effort to point out these noises to the family in hopes of trying to make them aware of the decibel levels in our home.
The habit that really concerned me was the yelling. I don't mean yelling like when a child misbehaves or when you are angry and raise your voice, (that is a whole different conversation) I mean just talking really loud. It seems like we all have gotten in the habit of yelling to communicate. Sometimes we are yelling to be heard over other noise, sometimes because we are looking for someone and yell their name, other times it just seems to be the way we talk.
My husband is the one who actually pointed this out. He had worked very late or early depending on how you look at this, and he was trying to sleep when the rest of us were awake. After an hour or so, he came out of our room and asked me what all the yelling was about. What yelling? I had know idea what he was talking about, there had been no fights or misbehavior. That is when I started to listen. We yell a lot! It is a scary thought, but I honestly believe that I have unknowingly conditioned my children not to listen to me unless I raise my voice.
So, we have challenged ourselves and our children to be more conscious of the volume. Like anything we are going to work on, it starts with me. When I hear the children start yelling or raise their voices, I try to intentionally lower mine. I have found that most of the time, that simple response reminds them to lower their voice. We have also started asking, "can you hear me?" When asked in a softer voice, it is a great reminder to an excited child that has forgotten how loudly they are speaking. My favorite response though is the whisper. I love how quietly whispering instructions or whispering in a conversation can greatly alter a moment. I have also learned that by whispering a special surprise, I am training the children to listen to my voice. They are learning to respond to my voice no matter how loud it may be.
Maybe your home is a nice quiet home of three, that is great! But, if you find your home being just a bit too loud or if you find that yelling has become the preferred mode of communication, let me encourage you to try and step back and whisper. God tells us throughout His Word that He speaks to His people with a still small voice or a quiet whisper. My prayer is that by helping our children lower their volume and listen for our small voices, they will also learn to quiet themselves and hear the voice of God as He continues to work on their lives.
May God truly bless your week as you and your children make a conscious effort to whisper!
No comments:
Post a Comment