Mommy Lesson 8 - Don't be a Nagging Mommy

You know the verse that says that a nagging wife is not fun to live with? Well actually there are 5 verses about a nagging wife in Proverbs. Yeah, five, I am guessing that means nagging wives have been around since the fall of man. Okay so, you might be asking yourself right now, what do nagging wives have to do with mommyhood lessons?
A whole lot actually.

As my not so little kids have gotten older I have learned how they like to not tell me everything right away anymore. Whether they are processing their feelings about something or it’s just something they are thinking about, me nagging them to tell me right away is not something I should be doing. They need space and time and will tell me when they are ready. If I have done my job then my relationship with them is strong enough that I can have the confidence that they will talk to me when they are ready and they have the confidence to know I’m ready to listen when they are ready to talk. Believe me this is an active everyday lesson for me right now. I catch myself nagging them all the time when I perceive something is wrong and the more I nag, the less willing they are to talk. In fact usually said tween goes to their room to be alone.

Nagging is like a continual annoying drip, it's a sound that makes you just want to bury your head under the pillow at night to make the sound go away. Think of that drip from a gutter drain when it is raining. drip…Drip…DRip…DRIp…DRIP… it seems to just get louder and louder with each drop. When you nag, it is just like that. A nagging mom is not winning any child’s heart. But a patient pleasant mom does win hearts.

So do brownies - just saying.

So I am learning to not nag and give them some space. Let them know that when they are ready to talk I am here ready to listen. And that it is safe to talk to me. If they have a fear of getting in trouble when they talk to me they won’t be coming anytime soon or probably ever. So don’t nag or badger your kids or your hubby. Or you might find them in the corner of the roof huddled together just to get away from you. Or maybe even roaming a desert wilderness somewhere where it is quiet.

Proverbs 19:13 (HCSB) A foolish son is his father's ruin, and a wife's nagging is an endless dripping.

Proverbs 21:9 (HCSB) Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.

Proverbs 21:19 (HCSB) Better to live in a wilderness than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.

Proverbs 25:24 (HCSB) Better to live on the corner of a roof than in a house shared with a nagging wife.

Proverbs 27:15 (HCSB) An endless dripping on a rainy day and a nagging wife are alike.