While I have always had a strong vein of logic running through me, I think I have become somewhat more detached and appreciative of logical reasoning as I’ve gotten older. Meanwhile, with three kids of very different temperaments, I have also had to learn that some respond well to logic and others need a little less of it…
The truth is, some kids respond really well to logic. This can be challenging for a parent who is a little more on the intuitive or emotional side of things. These kids need to know the cause and effect of things and if you can present things in a way that makes logical sense, they will respond positively. These kids don’t like it when things are loose, messy and illogical. Now, I know that to a certain degree, a big chunk of life is loose, messy and illogical–but a little logical balance can be helpful for the logic-minded child.
Have some sensible order to home life, explaining the reason why we don’t drink soda for breakfast in actual, logical terms, and making sure that your reactions are reasonable can all make life more pleasant for a logical child.
On the other hand, there are those children who do not respond well to logic at all. I have one of those and the more reasonable and logical I try to be, the more she balks and feels trapped. She needs things to be more intuitive and to talk about how they feel and “seem.” In her mind, there are several possibilities and several answers to every problem and it isn’t always about doing what seems the most practical and logical. As much as I would like to force my logic on her, it just doesn’t work and I have to try to come at things more from her perspective.
It takes all kinds and as parents, we might have to adjust our natural logic level to match what our children need and respond to.
Also: Parenting with Love and Logic II