Not all Wrongdoing is Mom's Business

Do you think Mom will notice? lifted from this blog

Link to Blaze article

The above article reminded me of a situation I had with my five year old son the other day.

Colin was playing quietly in the living room while I was upstairs sleeping in a little bit as the baby, Gideon, was sleeping in. When he woke up I went downstairs with him to change his diaper and get breakfast going. Nothing in the living room appeared out of place or unusual, but Colin ran up to me and with a big mischievous smile and admitted he had been in the bassinet, which I had clearly and repeatedly told him not to even touch.

I hate moments like that, where Colin in his zeal to be honest admits to wrongdoing I never would have noticed or cared about. On the one hand, to maintain order in the house and keep my authority in tact, I have to enforce the rules. On the other hand, I am now in the terrible position of having to punish a child essentially for being honest.

I sent Colin to his room, which of course made him very unhappy, while I got matters settled before going back upstairs to address Colin's problem with the bassinet.

We sat down together and I explained that he was wrong to be in the bassinet and not to touch it again. Then, with a sigh and wondering what horrible can of worms I was opening, explained that not everything is Mom's business to know and that if I don't see anything wrong, and don't ask, then (most of the time) I don't need to know about it. I can not watch him all the time and some sins are strictly between him and God.

Since then I wondered if it was wise of me to tell Colin that essentially he can get away with wrongdoing as long as he keeps it to himself; somehow, after reading the above article on the Blaze I am reassured that I told him the right thing.