Bamboozle - tr.
v.
Informal.
, -zled, -zling, -zles.
To take in by elaborate methods of deceit; hoodwink.
Have you ever had one of those days (or weeks!) when it feels as if nothing you have tried to teach your child about manners, respect and making good choices has sunk in? Perhaps everything you say seems to fall on deaf ears and you begin to question if you will ever be able to get your kid prepared to function in the real world.
You may come to believe that all of your hard work as a parent is for naught.
You may even feel like throwing up your hands in despair.
Don't let it fool you, though.
Don't be bamboozled by your kids! You are not alone! Despite and sometimes in spite of our best efforts to help our children "shine", we see nothing that confirms that any of our hard work has even shown up on the radar of our offspring.
In fact, we may sometimes be convinced that we are trying to communicate with an alien life form.
About that time, most parents feel like throwing in the towel.
Why bother, anymore? It's useless! This kid in NEVER going to ___________ (whatever you are trying to help your child accomplish...
speak respectfully, do her chores, go to bed when asked, stop throwing things, control her temper..
..
)! Don't give up! When parents have stick-to-it-tiveness...
stay the course and EXPECT a good outcome, the child will often follow suit.
It isn't always easy and it doesn't always happen overnight.
Okay, it's never easy...
and it never happens overnight! While some kids have a quick learning curve, others will take months and sometimes years to begin to blossom into their greatness.
Some kids will require that their parents have persistence and nerves of steel to help guide them toward success.
Really lucky kids get parents AND teachers that refuse to give up on them when the going gets tough! Your child is counting on YOU! Refuse to give up, refuse to give in.
You don't have to persist forever...
just a little longer than your child! Pump up your persistence muscle...
don't give in to the bamboozling scheme.
Read more about the real deal when it comes to BAMBOO in the column to the right! You'll be glad you did! BAMBOO: THE REAL DEAL "When you plant bamboo nothing happens in the first year, nor in the second or the third or fourth years.
You don't even see a single green shoot.
And yet in the fifth year, in the space of just six weeks, the bamboo will grow 90 feet high.
The question is, did it grow 90 feet in six weeks or in five years?" Dick, F.
(1992) Winning, p.
186.
Abingdon Press Remember that bamboo plant when it seems that you are not seeing any growth in your child...
even if it happens to be year after year.
Once that bamboo plant sprouts, there is nothing that can get in the way of its growth.
Yet, even when it was not growing, it still required an optimal environment for growth...
for it was PREPARING to GROW.
The same is true for children! Are you watering and providing plenty of sunshine and a breath of fresh air...
even on...
NO..
particularly on...
the darkest of days?