"Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they become"
- Brooke Hampton
This quote really pulled at my heart. It is a reminder that our children are a reflection of how we communicate to them. As parents it is our responsibility to instruct our children while their hearts are open and teach them valuable skills. So, we parent out of truth!
Who else read that thinking, "Yes, Yes, YES!!" ? The truth is, we sometimes forget that our little ones are watching every little thing. And, if we parent out of truth, then we know that they can do anything they put their minds to, as long as we are behind them with confidence.
They can get to sleep on their own, they can play for ten minutes without being held, get to bed on time, nap, and most importantly, obey their parents.
Toddlers are beautiful, defiant little beings. It is our responsibility to prepare them for life in positive ways, not save them from it.
When we are making decisions on behalf of our children, ask yourself these three questions.
- Am I making this decision out of fear or truth?
- What is the truth in this situation?
- How can I act on that truth?
When we ask these questions in our daily scenarios, we are putting the confidence in our toddlers that they deserve. So, when our toddler cries hysterically because we set them down to do a simple task, we ask ourselves, these questions and parent out of truth accordingly.
Are we in fear that they will be scarred for life because we set them down for three minutes, safely in their pack in play? Truthfully, we can tolerate a few days of crying as we equip them with the skill to figure it out. Beucase they are safe and they can do it!
We act on this truth and remind them. "You don't need Mommy or Daddy to hold you all the time, and you will be just fine." We don't need to go into detail, it's the simple truth, and we have the confidence in them to complete the task!
Now, let's put it into action!
- When we are equipping our children with these skills, consistency is key!
- If that means loading the laundry ever day (let's be real, we are doing this anyway) and placing them in a safe place while we do it, we are giving them the confidence to play independently.
- Then, we repeat this task consistently and the confident truth will kick in.
Do not lost hope parents! Be the source of confidence and they will learn to believe it too! You've got this!
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