Nephew likens the Uncle

There is this phase in chinese that the nephew resembles the uncle a great deal. I am slowly finding that 'painful' truth right now. Ryan is slowly turning out to be like my brother! It really is a scary thought. Perhaps it is because he was raised as the only child thus far so it fosters his self-centered-ness; or it is simply how he was created. But either way, I have been chosen to deal with it. He has trouble playing with friends who are just as wanting to take charge as he is. I sometime purposely want him to play with them so that he can face those conflicts and learn how to deal with them now. I realize spanking must be done wisely meaning it is only effective when he is already submitted to the discipline. Otherwise, I am only exacerbating his rebellion. At other times, I find that calmly discussing the situation with him is more productive. He needs to learn how his actions affect others and makes a choice accordingly. Meanwhile, I try to empathize with his frustration but let him know that it is still wrong. Lastly, I guide him to turn these things over to God in prayer. I can feel that this is gonna be a LONG process in which his pride and self-centered-ness must be broken repeatedly. But it must be done now or he is going to turn out like his wonderful uncle.

Ryan is also not afraid to act up in Sunday school class. I don't know if it is because he thinks because I teach there, it is then okay for him to do so? Or I just have not talked to him enough about behaving. He is also callous in that he dares to decide about something then inform me about it. The classic example would be inviting his friend to our place for playdate without my expressed consent. That boy really needs some fixing for sure.

Such is the joy of teaching a 5 yr old sinner.