The list can goes on and on of how stop children from operating in the weakness of their color, but most of all I love when I can parent proactively and promote their strengths.
Power = Happiness
Reds are the Power Wielders. They will be naturally drawn to powerful positions. They will be that strong child who leads without any words being spoken, they don’t tell other children what they should do, they tell them what they ARE doing. Blue children usually boss others around, but Red are just followed. That can either be a great thing, or a really bad thing.
I’ve been looking into ways to give my Red child power. She excels when
she has power and I love to see her excel. But it’s tricky, what some may see
as power, some see as control. But as a parent, I have to remain aware of who
is in control. (Because I’m a White personality and don’t want to be controlled
and I don't care about having control over others. But I am a parent, I should!)
I believe that if I hand my child power over something, I am still in control. But if
she takes the power from me, she is in control.
Here is my ever-growing list of positive power that I give my Queen Vee so
that she can exercise her strengths as a healthy Red Personality:
1. The Power of Making Decisions:
I let her choose what she wears. (I only give her 2 options.) She is never wishy washy about what she wants. I love that! She is quick to say, "I want to wear the My Little Pony dress." I let her decide what she wants to eat at breakfast and lunch. When I change the sheets on her bed, I let her choose the new ones and pillow case. I let her decide what movie we choose at the video store.
I feel that giving her power over certain decisions helps her be okay with not getting her way on things I must decide for her. She HAS to eat what I make for dinner. She HAS to do her chores and brush her teeth.
She is the youngest of five kids and she could have really gotten the shaft if I didn't realize that she was Red and thrives on making deicisions. In doing these things I am "Supporting her decisive nature" and "Respecting her need to make her own deicisions her own way." (Found in The Color Code by Taylor Hartman - How to Develop a Postive Connection with Reds, pg 75.)
2. Offer Leadership Opportunities:
This is rather difficult because Queen Vee is my last child and is only 5 years old. But the girl is a natural leader. Amazingly, my other kids can (and will) follow her. I give her opportunities to give the other kids direction when it is appropriate.
"Ask the big kids to get their shoes on because we are leaving in 5 minutes." She runs off and tells them to do so. But there are times when she is rude and commanding, so it takes some tweaking to teach her to be a kind and gentle leader.
3. Offer Opportunities for Productivity:
I tried something new this week: Queen Vee and I went grocery shopping alone. I don't know why I was surprised that it was very productive and efficient with her help. I allowed her to push the shopping cart. (I steered it a bit from the front so she didn't kill anyone.) Her head isn't higher than the handle of the cart yet, but she pushed that thing from beginning to end. (I think she thinks she has a grown-up body sometimes!)
As we shopped, I told her what I needed from the shelf. She would get it for me. I found myself standing next to the cart while she blazed to the shelves and filled our shopping cart with what we needed. I saved alot of energy. She got the chance to be productive. Win. Win! (Plus, I don't know if she realizes that this form of productivity is my way of teaching her obedience, too. Hehehe! She was tempted by Jell-O and Fruit Snacks and didn't pout when I said no. She was too busy getting the shopping done.)
There are many things little Reds can do to feel productive. House cleaning is a big one. Also, cooking, school work (she is already my best student in homeschool), etc.
I'm sure this list will lengthen as Queen Vee gets older. I will add to it as I come across more ways to promote her strong and wonderful personality. Do you have a Red child? What are some ways you've found to give them power? Leave a comment!
I let her choose what she wears. (I only give her 2 options.) She is never wishy washy about what she wants. I love that! She is quick to say, "I want to wear the My Little Pony dress." I let her decide what she wants to eat at breakfast and lunch. When I change the sheets on her bed, I let her choose the new ones and pillow case. I let her decide what movie we choose at the video store.
I feel that giving her power over certain decisions helps her be okay with not getting her way on things I must decide for her. She HAS to eat what I make for dinner. She HAS to do her chores and brush her teeth.
She is the youngest of five kids and she could have really gotten the shaft if I didn't realize that she was Red and thrives on making deicisions. In doing these things I am "Supporting her decisive nature" and "Respecting her need to make her own deicisions her own way." (Found in The Color Code by Taylor Hartman - How to Develop a Postive Connection with Reds, pg 75.)
2. Offer Leadership Opportunities:
This is rather difficult because Queen Vee is my last child and is only 5 years old. But the girl is a natural leader. Amazingly, my other kids can (and will) follow her. I give her opportunities to give the other kids direction when it is appropriate.
"Ask the big kids to get their shoes on because we are leaving in 5 minutes." She runs off and tells them to do so. But there are times when she is rude and commanding, so it takes some tweaking to teach her to be a kind and gentle leader.
3. Offer Opportunities for Productivity:
As we shopped, I told her what I needed from the shelf. She would get it for me. I found myself standing next to the cart while she blazed to the shelves and filled our shopping cart with what we needed. I saved alot of energy. She got the chance to be productive. Win. Win! (Plus, I don't know if she realizes that this form of productivity is my way of teaching her obedience, too. Hehehe! She was tempted by Jell-O and Fruit Snacks and didn't pout when I said no. She was too busy getting the shopping done.)
There are many things little Reds can do to feel productive. House cleaning is a big one. Also, cooking, school work (she is already my best student in homeschool), etc.
I'm sure this list will lengthen as Queen Vee gets older. I will add to it as I come across more ways to promote her strong and wonderful personality. Do you have a Red child? What are some ways you've found to give them power? Leave a comment!