Did You Know

Did You Know?

    I try and write as much as I can about parents and their children…for I know that parenting is the most important job you will ever have. It is truly sad to know that so many parents take that job so lightly. We will have a million excuses for poor parenting…I work a lot…I am too tired to deal with them…and we will follow that up with an equally insulting remark such as…they know I love them. Shame on us…having and raising children is a gift. And we behave as if it is a chore which is inconvenient to us. Please don’t think that I am only referring to mothers…because I absolutely am not. It takes two people to have a child…one should not bear all of the responsibility.

  What lessons are you teaching your children? Are you counting on their schools to teach them all that they need to know? Because in case you didn’t know, let me be the first to say…the state of our public school systems is seriously lacking. What lessons are you, as parents, teaching your children? The important lessons…the lessons which will give them the tools that they need to be successful in the world.

  I am not referring to success in the financial sense…but in the sense where they are succeeding in being loving and kind to one another. Did you know that you cannot hug your child too much? Did you know that saying I love you…only cost you a moment of your time; but the chain reaction of those lessons will resonate in your child for a lifetime.

  Behind every loving adult is someone who showed them how to be loving. It is equally true to say that for every adult who exhibits hate or contempt towards others…there is someone who also taught them to be that person. We don’t have to tell our children how to love or hate…because they watch our behaviors…which is a lesson all in itself. It would be ridiculous for a man who physically or verbally abuses his wife or children…to tell his child to be kind to others. The lesson is found in the observation.

  Did you know that the child you are raising could be the next President of our country, Prime Minister, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, or more importantly…he/she could become someone else’s mother or father? That could be a vicious cycle…or a circle of love that will spill over onto everything and everyone your child ever comes into contact with. Children are not small adults…they are our hope for the future…who do you think makes them hopeful? We do. We are the foundation in which our children build upon…we need to take that seriously.

  Parenting is not easy…not for anyone…which is why everyone may not be up to the task. But for those of us who are parents…its time to step up…and stop making the same old tiring excuses. Did you know that being a parent can be the most rewarding position one could have in this life? Children learn how to be loving and peaceful by experiencing us and how we interact with others.

  We could learn so much from our children…I know because I have a walking smile that lives in my home…and I never doubt for one second how very blessed I am to be able to have the joy she brings to me everyday. She is not my responsibility…she is my reason for being.

  Have you ever just listened to children laugh when they are playing together? I have, many times, and it warmed my heart…I felt elated…it made me feel hopeful. Why does a simple laugh do that? A laugh or giggle from a child is Gods way of saying not to sweat the small stuff…and enjoy the moment. Always give thanks for the moment…because those days do not last long. Have you ever seen a baby smile while they are sleeping? It is one of the most precious gifts we are given.

  I know life can sometimes seem to spiral out of control…but we get to choose the pace in which we live…we can either run through it and hope our children can keep up…or we can walk with our children and stop to smell the flowers along the way. Truthfully, no matter which speed you choose…you are going to get to the same place…but if you walk with your child then you get to see the world through his/her eyes.

  I am asking you to appreciate every moment you can with your child, and stop behaving as if they are a task to be completed. Every time you think that your child is a bother…you should go and speak to a mother or father whose child succumbed to SIDS, or cancer. Go speak to a parent whose child was hit by a drunk driver…or speak to some one who cannot have children…ask them about being burdened with raising a child.

  We have one life…we can use it worrying about trivial things…or we can soak up every moment we have by showering ourselves in the love and laughter of children…you decide.