A Soft Answer

During tense moments with your children, try whispering instead of yelling. When our children were young, I found that they often paid better attention when they had to strain to hear me. Whispering also helped me to communicate instructions in a more loving way, thus encouraging them to more willingly cooperate. Now that our oldest daughter has children of her own, I smile when I hear her whisper, “Please, clean up your mess,” rewarding with a soft-spoken “thank you” when they do as they’re asked. I am grateful that our children—and now grandchildren as well—know how “a soft answer turneth away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1).
Peggy Climer, Arkansas