Independence

“It

What a great skill you have Shera, to be able to look objectively at the actions of the new parents who were visiting, contract that “new parent” behavior with your greater experience, and see the need for balance in wanting to protect your kids from everything vs. letting them learn a few lessons on their own (like the fact that dirt just doesn’t taste that good!).

I think that teaching children independence (within age-appropriate limits of course – or rather letting them learn it since it’s a hard concept to “teach”) is one of the greatest gifts you can give your kids -because it teaches them how to confidently make decisions, a skill that will benefit them greatly in life. It can be simple things when they are very young, like letting them choose what outfit to don (avoiding “yes or no” situations by giving them “either or” instead), and yes sometimes it means letting them “discover” things on their own too…..with mom/dad/family watching but not necessarily “stopping” them…..

I LOVE reading your articles Shera as it brings back SO many memories from when my three step-kids were toddlers – now that they are all grown I can relive those wonderful (and sometimes painful) moments vicariously through your blog posts….keep ‘em coming!

Thank you so much for chiming in ladies!

Tara: I absolutely have to admit that I’m the kind of parent that really does tend to look at life very logically…not objectively as I should. Sometimes I suddenly have an epiphany (or I have the same one over and over LOL) that helps bring me back into balance and this was definitely one of those moments.

Trisha: LOLOL! I have tons of material…just always seem to forget to write it down. As always, thank you so much for the encouragement.