I do strongly believe that parenting equals teaching. I love the memes that you come across on social media that say, don't give your kids everything they want; teach them the things you wish you had learned now that you are an adult. I try to involve our kids in cooking in the kitchen or outside on the grill, working with me on different projects around the house, showing them how to use tools, etc. I also make a conscious effort to teach about mindset and attitude. As a kid and into my adult life, I struggled with this area of my life. Now that I am acquiring knowledge in this area, I want to make sure that my kids grow up with an understanding of gratitude, empathy, and daily mindset in any activities they are involved in.
With that being said, I am also running into the famous too much of a good thing. Kids also need to be allowed to be kids and learn on their own. We can't do it all for them, and even if we could, how would they appreciate that, right? There is a fine line that I find with our kids. They do respond to the lessons I try to point out for them when it comes to mindset and attitude and examples of compassion for others. But sometimes I can get a little...let's say long winded. I have had to learn to notice their signs of checking out and I also try to get them involved in actual conversation on a specific topic. I think getting them to interact with me has the biggest impact in them absorbing the lessons I try to express. I also have had to learn to see when the time is just not right to try and pound home a lesson. You need to be aware of social situations where your child may be embarrassed to get into that learning space in front of peers. Maybe they are tired and your attempts are just going to lead to frustration and be ineffective.
It can seem like time is going by so quickly and we need to grasp every opportunity to give these lessons and experiences to our children, but reality is that we have time. Time can get away from us if we don't use it wisely though. Get in a habit of interacting with your children on an emotionally intellectual level, especially at a young age. When you make that effort to connect with them some way on a daily basis, you will begin to see the impact it makes on them in their lives. You may not feel or see great impact on any one day, but if you stick with it, read the signs they give, and stay positive with it, you will find great satisfaction in the people that your children are becoming. Be proud! You have been a little part of the process and the greater your children are, the greater difference you have made in this world!
Be the difference everyday, because without TODAY, yesterday and tomorrow don't matter!