Proverbs 17:27
“The intelligent person restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding.”

Ben and I are learning how careful we have to be with our words with our tweens. We have to do a lot of heart checking ourselves. We are finding that the girls are taking things literally and tend to hold to it tightly. Words and tone have always been important, but there’s an extra attention to words (and how they’re said) that is happening these days. Often, we’re having to rewind, clarify, and ask questions to make sure what they are interpreting things accurately (and not stewing on it). We’re having to help them logically think through words, its intentions, and our hearts. At first I thought it was just my girls, but then I was talking to friends with tweens too and they’re having similar issues. Whew! Made me feel normal and less alone. Even still, Ben and I ought to take exceptional care to discipling our girls (and ourselves) as they give and listen to words.