Lifelong learner hijacks Mom’s desk
Sometimes there’s a big gulf between adult goal-setting and the little bit we let our kids take part in. Reading this post about a child’s superior sales skills helped me think about the many ways we can improve our skills and connect with our kids at the same time.
Lots of families do homework together. What would happen if, instead of hovering over our kids to prevent the discomfort of error, we sat beside them, working on some of our own “medium concentration” tasks? What if we used the opportunity to consciously practice positive parental role modeling?
The next time the weather has you all stuck inside, why not try a family vision board session? Perhaps you could use it to plan a vacation or a holiday gathering. Or, have each person use it to plan a portion of the event and see how many you can incorporate. Either way, creating in the same time and space offers a wonderful opportunity to learn about each other… and the visuals can be a big help with communication.
A family ‘walk and talk’ after dinner gets everyone outdoors, away from the TV or computer screen and moving around a bit. And, if a more intense workout is needed, teens and tweens can be great accountability partners!
Want some help with meal planning and grocery shopping? Perhaps part of your team has great computer skills and can surf for coupons? Or maybe they can help use a site like All Recipes to find new uses for some of what’s hanging around in the pantry? In addition to (eventually) lightening your load a bit, this is a great way to share learning about what we eat and what we spend: choices they’ll be exercising every single day.
It’s impossible to overestimate the impact of childhood lessons — and especially the power of parental example — have later in life. And for those who have paired improving skills with having fun? That’s a “win” in anybody’s book.
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4 Responses to “Modeling vs. Coddling?”
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Great post and such good tips and reminders! Thank you so much for such a lovely read…so many ways we can make a difference. 🙂
It’s so easy to be nervous about our parenting and “talk, talk, talk” *at* our kids. I’m pretty sure they remember what we do much, much more than what we say.
i always loved taking walks with my kids, away from the “screens” and out in nature. I also loved taking them places where the conversation would (and still does, as young adults) be very deep and meaningful because there were no distractions. you make great points here!
When my son was in grade school he wrote an essay explaining that he felt “sorry for kids whose parents only talk with them at dinnertime” because he got to talk with his Mom “in the car, at the grocery store and any time I want.” Thanks for taking time to comment… and to bring up such a sweet memory.