Explained Consequences

The day rarely ends without one of my kids getting into trouble and most certainly without, at the very least, a stiff reprimand from me. This day is no different. My son gets into trouble, gets sent to his room to wait for me, gets disciplined and after I give him a hug and kiss we move on through our day. Except that then he asks me a question that proves to have a valuable teaching lesson, "Why do I still get in trouble if I say I'm sorry?" Today was the day that I explained to my child that even though you may be sorry, your actions still have consequences. After our talk I thought to myself how much of that lesson we teach versus how much we as a society actually follow through. I know all kinds of people who get into trouble, but who have very little, if not any consequences; especially if their wallet holds a hefty sum of money. My four year old asked a great question that we should all ponder, if there are consequences to our actions, how come we don't have to answer to them all the time as adults? My husband is over at our church helping with the bushes that were pulled and the aftermath of the mess that made. They wanted to get rid of all the shrubbery in the front of the church and now with all that they pulled out they need to find something to do with the dirt mess before Sunday. My oldest son has been home for the last two days with a "fever virus"; as soon as the Motrin wears off his temperature runs back up to about 102.5. He was sent home Wednesday afternoon at about 2:30 p.m. with a fever of 101.5 and a headache; hopefully he'll feel better soon. ~