Good Parenting from a Kids Perspective: The List

Good afternoon dreamers!

As some of you may have guessed by now, I have started an organization that benefits young ladies in the arena of creativity, self worth, self love, and self motivation. I want to provide positive role models for our girls, I truly believe they need it, that the world needs it. Well, for those of you who don’t know, I am a mother as well, I have a 9 year old daughter and a 5 year old son, BOTH the loves of my life. My team/best friends and I got together and did an activity with the kids. We had our kids (roughly about 10 kids between us all…I know crazy) write down, anonymously, things that they would like us to change, work on, or just do better at. We threw these tiny pieces of paper in a hat, let the kids go outside and play while we read each off and wrote them down. The list is below:

1.) Use phone less

2.) Love me more

3.) Stop cursing

4.) Stop assuming things

5.) Spend more time with me

6.) To have more alone time

7.) Be a better listener

8.) More social

9.) Help with chores

10.) No judging

11.) Stop ignoring people

12.) Stay off the phone at home

13.) Stop accusing

14.) Stop hollering

15.) Stop fussing

16.) Lighter punishment

I honestly believe that parents have a lot to do with what kind of adult a child grows up to be. We introduce them to the world, we place our values in them, sometimes values that were passed down from our parents, we place our fears, doubts, dreams, boundaries, all into these tiny little beings and we expect them to be perfect at life. Sometimes its great to take a moment to reflect on the type of parent you might be and what your life is showing them. I don’t know which of these suggestions my kids put into the hat, and I haven’t asked because I feel like ALL of this is something that I can work on. I want to be the type of mother that pays attention to her child, what she says, what she does, how she speaks, around her child. I want my children to know that they are important in this world, but that has to start with letting them know that they are important to my life.

Most parents would say “you don’t pay bills around here, how dare you give ME a list?!?!? I’m the reason why you’re living…and blah blah blah…” Or “Children are to be seen not heard!” or any other “mama” saying that a lot of us grew up hearing.

Don’t shut down your child’s creativity, their right to speak up, their need to be heard, because sometimes that can weigh on their self esteem. Now, don’t get me wrong I’m not raising disrespectful human beings, but I am raising humans who know they have the right to speak up, they have the right to my attention, and they have a right to want more from me emotionally. If that takes me putting my phone down to watch my daughter turn the same cartwheels she’s been turning for 5 years, or, stopping my phone conversation to watch “Cars” I hate that movie  with my son for the 65th time, then so be it.

Listen to your kids, yes they can be annoying, yes they want a lot of time, yes they call your name every 5 minutes, yes they want EV-ER-Y-THING, but in those genuine moments, moments you can’t get back…be present for your children. They deserve it.’

xoxoxo

LGBD “She”EO