Here are a few things you might try:

Talk to your child about the fact that God gave us hands to love, help, pray, etc.

Sing “Be Careful What You Do Little Hands.”

Share 2 Timothy 2:24 – “Be gentle to all”.  Make up a song using the verse and naming who or what we should be gentle with:  be gentle to your friends, your pets, your books, etc.

Demonstrate a gentle touch.

Find pictures of children hugging or touching an animal gently.

Pray with your child, asking God to help him be gentle to all.

You might try putting him in his crib to isolate him.  Tell him he can come out when he learns to control his hands and be gentle.

Read Under Loving Command (Children Fun or Frenzie) for some really helpful discipline pointers.

Don’t give up! Be consistent and pray.  You will see the fruit of your labor – the fruit of gentleness which is one of the 9 fruit of the spirit!

Mr. Rogers When a Pet Dies (A Mister Rogers’ First Experiences) is a helpful book if your family ever experiences this.

Proverbs 12:10 says “The godly are concerned for the welfare of their animals.”  My dear husband  spent almost $4000 trying to stop her suffering, but early this morning around 1:30 am we knew we had to take her in and say good bye to her.  This was the hardest thing we have ever done.  Everyone but Jenny got to give her one last hug .  Jenny has made a wonderful video tribute to Goldie.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gx0eF1yG7A

We prayed earnestly for God to heal Goldie, but He had a reason to handle the situation another way.  I know that one day we will be able to comfort someone in our situation.  “God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Cor. 1:4)

“Why love, if losing hurts so much? …The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal.” C.S. Lewis (Shadowlands)

“The living God gives us  all things to enjoy.”  (1 Tim. 6:17)  Thank you, God, for giving us  12 years of  joy with Goldie.

We are encouraged throughout Scripture to be honest:

Proverbs 11:1  The Lord hates cheating, but he delights in honesty.
2 Chron. 18:15  … say nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord
Ephes. 4:15  …speaking the truth in love…

In teaching our children honesty, we must be an example to them.  Always do what you say you will do.  If you make a promise, keep it; and never make a threat in disciplining that you can not follow through with if they disobey (example: I will throw you out the window if you scream one more time)  Children need the security of knowing they can trust Mom and Dad.  A child’s healthy relationship with his parents paves the way for a healthy relationship with God.  We are God’s representative to them and need to show them they can trust us and Him.

Tell your children stories of men and women in history who told the truth and those that didn’t and suffered the consequences.  Here are a few book or website suggestions:

Who Can Trust You, Kangaroo? (Sweet Pickles Series)
Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln
The Son Who Said He Wouldn’t (Arch Books)
George Washington and the Cherry Tree

The following is a song with signing about honesty:

And remember, the Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved…2 Peter 3:15

Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin? Romans 2:4

If God has such patience with us, we should have patience with each other:

Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Ephesians 4:2

As parents, our patience is tested daily and there are times when we all think we have totally lost it. This is when we need to rest in the fact that through knowing God and by His power, we can endure anything:

We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need…Col. 1:11

Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. 2 Peter 1:6

One way our children learn patience is from observing us. They will usually respond to a situation the same way we do, so they need to see us exercising our patience in difficult situations. When we lose our patience, it can be make the situation worse; when we are patient, we have a calming effect on our children.

Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering (patience), for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him. 1 Tim. 1:16

In addition to your modeling patience, you can have fun using creative activities to teach patience. Here are some ideas I have used through the years with my own children and with my two year old class this last month:

1. Our theme song for the month has been from a children’s musical called Music Machine (click to see this album available at Amazon.com). To hear the song about patience click here 07-have-patience1.

2. In this song Herbert the Snail sings “Have Patience”. We had fun making a snail out of clay dough and painting it after it dried. To make the clay-dough, mix 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, and 1/3 cup water. Roll the dough into a snake and curl it like a snail. Use a broken toothpick for feelers.

Herbert the Snail

3. We also learned to sign the song.

4. I had the children all sit down on the carpet and wait quietly until the timer went off (about one minute or so) and then I gave them a small treat and thanked them for waiting patiently.

5. We pointed out patience in any video we watched or book we read.

6. When we read The Tortoise and the Hare, we made a turtle out of a paper plate folded in half for its shell and then added a head, legs, and tail. We talked about how the turtle walked patiently toward his goal.

7. When we read Daddy, Are We There Yet, we pretended to take a car trip and talked about waiting patiently until we arrived at our destination.

8. I thanked them anytime I observed them using patience.

9. I acted out being impatient, which really surprised them to see me act like they do sometimes when they don’t get what they want and when they want it. ( I later apologized for not being patient)

I’m sure you can come up with more creative ideas of your own. Have fun and remember that with God’s power you can “Have Patience”