Today's prompt is a loaded one! What are the most important lessons I want to teach my children? There are so many things I hope to instill in the boys that will stay with them as they grow older. Of course the obvious ones, but some others that I think are so important as well.
Funny thing about parenthood, all the warnings and advice you hear in the beginning are usually about lack of sleep, feeding them, how everything changes. But, as the boys get older, I'm finding parenting so much harder in many ways. At least in the beginning I knew things would be okay as long as they slept, ate and felt loved. Now, it's more emotionally taxing, when they feel hurt, I can actually feel it too. You want so much to protect them, but also need to teach them how be independent and grow into the people they're supposed to be. It's a lot! There are definitely a few things that are so important to us with raising our boys, that we try to keep at the forefront. We try to model these things ourselves as much as possible for them to see and learn.
Kindness - It's important to me that the boys grow up to be kind. Treating people with respect and warmth, being friendly.
Empathy - Having the ability to understand how people are feeling, and share in those feelings to help strengthen relationships and understand what people are going through or why they may be feeling or acting a certain way.
Be true to who you are - always be you. This is something that I've struggled with and I hope that they feel safe to be who they truly are from a young age. Follow their heart and their own intuition about who they want to be and what they want to do in life.
It's never too late - It's never too late to chase your dreams or pursue the things that will make you happy!
Travel - I hope they take time to travel and see the world. To see how different people live and different cultures. It will give them such a broader perspective on life and perhaps lead them to something wonderful they wouldn't have otherwise found.
Family / Traditions - Always remember how important family and traditions are. Even as they grow up I hope they prioritize family bonds with each other, their parents as well as our extended family. I hope they learn that at the end of the day, family is what matters most.
Responsibility - To be able to take care of themselves, be responsible members of society.
Coping with setbacks - I hope they learn coping skills for the times when life is hard, because it will be. To know that sometimes the hardest things we go through lead us to something even better. That there is always light after periods of darkness or heartache.
Seeing the benefit of failure - This one goes into the last one, but I hope they can see even if there are setbacks and failures along the way, there is always a lesson to be learned. And without those failures we can't appreciate the success.
Manners - This one is hard, I'm really working at it already and it's a challenge. But I hope they grow to be very polite and have good manners. Eating at nice restaurants, holding doors, being kind to strangers and service people.
Positivity - I think it is so important to have a positive outlook on life. To see the good in every situation, and when times are difficult to try and see silver linings.
Take care of your body - We only have our one body, so it's important to treat it well.
Live in the moment - Try to enjoy each stage of life! I sometimes am too busy looking forward, worrying about the future. I was always in a rush to grow up. I hope they're able to enjoy each stage and slow down a bit.
No comments:
Post a Comment