Being inspired by your child
This post inspired me, in turn, on multiple levels: what children are capable of, what parents are capable of, and how valuable it is to treat one another as (basically) responsible adults.
I’d heard people talk about being inspired by their kids before, and didn’t really believe it as I hadn’t had the experience. But last night, Tovar inspired me.
I’d been exploring issues of autonomy and self-regulation with Shannon, as well as how we can be better parents, so that was my mental frame as I went in to cuddle him last night. As often happens when we go in after bedtime, he was playing outside his bed with the lights a bit bright, and jumped in fear at knowing that he’d been “caught” doing what he “wasn’t supposed to”, even though we’ve been very accepting of his playing before sleep, and never yelled or said anything harsher than “Please get in bed, it’s bedtime”.
This reaction had been bothering me for awhile, so after sharing a bit with Tovar about how I was doing and what had been going on for me that evening, I asked him about it. Keep reading »
On a related note, the entire concept of keeping a journal like that of your child’s formative years just rocks.
Originally published at Mudita Journal. Please leave any comments there.