โ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ข๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.โ - ๐, ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐บโฃ
โ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ข๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.โ - ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ข, ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐บโฃ
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When Leelaโs school reopened last July, and we chose not to send her back I had decided that an omission of information may be the kindest way to move forward with the situation. But her school had been using the MarcoPolo app to keep the kids connected and the conversations quickly died down once 10/13 kids returned to class. So, I told her the truth: itโs mommyโs job to keep her safe and Iโm not comfortable sending her back to school yet. โฃ
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Until that moment, Leela had not really questioned my choices for her, she just took them in stride as fact. Not this time. โI donโt agree with your decision,โ she said.โฃ
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I have to admit, I was a bit shocked to hear this from my 4 year old, but I was also really PROUD of her. She had enough faith in our relationship that she could openly share a differing opinion with me through words without lashing out or becoming angry. โฃ
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So how do we create a relationship with our children where they feel safe enough to speak freely with us from a from young age?โฃ
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- Be a calm listener. When your child gets worked up and starts to lash out, maintain your calm energy and wait until they have worked through the frustration enough to speak. Then, listen with an open heart. โฃ
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- Give them the same respect youโd like from them during the conversation. Try not to interrupt and try not to impose your opinion on them.โฃ
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- Explain your reasoning with honesty and transparency. We sometimes think that young children need a sugar coated version of the truth, but the reality is that they drink up knowledge and the more open we are with them the more they can trust us. โฃ
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- Hold the boundary you have set, firmly but with kindness. This one is important. It IS our job to make certain choices for our children to keep them safe but we can do so gently and with empathy for their response. โฃ
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๐ฟ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฃ? ๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช!