As a parent, you hear that expression all the time! In my case, I hear it especially when I'm commenting on my daughter's high energy, her fascination with strangers, and her eagerness to "interview" anyone who makes eye contact with her. She may be as outgoing and talkative as I am, but she has key qualities that I've always wished for - fearlessness and persistence.
Growing up, I was the kid voted to one day run the country. I appeared to be confident, courageous, and persistent. Lesson #1: Don't judge a book by its cover. Confident - though I was always outspoken, I was only cocky within my comfort zone. Courageous - the closest I ever came to a roller coaster ride was standing beside the cotton candy booth. Persistent - that was selective. When it came to expanding my shoe collection - I never gave up! Math assignments, on the other hand, were easy to abandon. So seeing that Chloe (my 4 yr. old), doesn't give up easily and won't bow out to any foreign experience makes me very proud.
As parents, our responsibilities go way beyond the supplying of basic needs to our children. We're their mentors for life, which means our actions and reactions are of considerable influence. When Chloe repeats a word/statement I once blared out in a high octane moment, I feel awful. I'm accountable for her behaviour pretty much until she enters adulthood. It's my belief that our children are deeply effected by our emotional behaviour. So whenever I don't communicate with my child from a place of pure love, I suck! It's very cute to see her physically mimic me through yoga, but it isn't so cute to see her mimic me when I'm emotionally disconnected from my best Self. How do we provide our children with our best Self? Well, I breathe! Right before I'm about to verbally explode, I TRY to stop, breathe, and breathe some more. On an 80/20 scale, it alters my delivery.
As we coast through life in high stress mode, it's so easy to lose our patience. As I share my parental challenges to be better, I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm sure most parents struggle with the desire to be more patient, more tolerant, more understanding with their children - whether they're toddlers or teens.
This post is to remind all parents that as long as we're doing the best we know how, then we're good. It's also a reminder that our children look up to us therefore every act of kindness, every hug we give, every interest we show, goes all long way.
