I have a playful cat. He is curious. He likes to stretch in the window. Every once in a while he will get his claw caught in the curtain. His curiosity does get the best of him. He learns that he can’t reach out too far. I see him test the boundaries. I know he is trying to see how he could achieve maximum results.
When kids act out they are like the cat. They are trying to see how far they can go before they get tangled up or called out like the cat. I had to rescue the cat. I make sure the kids are in a safe place. I allow them to push boundaries and limits.
I want them to question authority. I want them to ask questions. I don’t want them to do it in a way that is not nice. I don’t want them to be manipulative. I want them to learn to experiment and achieve their goals.
I learned not too long ago to encourage kids to fail. Because that is where they learn the lessons. If they are up to no good, they may be pushing boundaries. It is okay to let them fail in safe space. I want them to know there is a way to achieve what they want. However they have to do it within the lessons that they have learned along the way.