This is Noah:



Notice that he is not wearing any socks? In the middle of winter? On a damp, blowy day? No matter how many times Mommy has reminded him to put some on?



This is only one small sign of his everlasting stubbornness. Or, should I say, "STUBBORNNESS"?

He hardly has the corner on being stubborn in our family. But the way he is stubborn is quiet, subtle, so it just kind of sneaks up on you out of nowhere and broadsides you and you're left standing there saying, "Where on earth did that come from?"

After every meal, the kids need to say thank you for the meal and ask to be excused. A week ago, Noah was leaving the breakfast table, but refused to say, "Thank you for breakfast." No matter how many times he was told that it was, in fact, breakfast, he insisted on thanking my mom for supper! "It's too hard for me!" he shrieked, when told that he needed to say breakfast.

The next morning, he thanked me for breakfast just fine.

When he gets his mind set on something, it is STUCK there. Nothing you can do can get him off of it--especially if it has something to do with playing Wii or computer games. The rule is, the kids can only play Wii for a couple of hours on the two days of the weekend. However, all week long, nearly every day, Noah will ask to play Wii games. One day he asked over and over again, until I was just tired of hearing it. After what had to be the dozenth time, I told him that if he asked to play Wii again, he would get a spank.

While that seemed like a sufficient threat to deter him for a while, it was not long before the thought of playing Wii crowded any threat about asking to play it from his little one-track mind, and he got a whack on his bum.

The flip side of stubbornness is determination, and it is his determination that I love. He will always be his own person. Peer pressure is something that will not be an issue--or at least, not much of one. When he sets a goal, he will achieve it.

As long as we can figure out how to channel that determination without squelching it. To let him be, help him become, but not allow him to be wild.