Children need our love – especially when they don’t deserve it!
June brings the school year to and end and so the summer begins.
(We live in hope anyway!)
Are you looking forward to it or are you dreading it?
The interesting thing is, if you think it will be great it probably will be.
If you are wondering how you are going to get through it and that it will be stressful, it probably will be too!
So why not decide that, no matter what the weather or the economy, this summer is going to be the best one yet.
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There is much debate over what can be attributed to nature and what to nurture. Depending on what you read or who you listen to, the ratios vary. What is consistent, however, is that we are born with our own unique temperament which is the way we express our character and personality.
One of the basic temperament traits is General Mood so we can be born with a natural disposition to being positive or negative. The glass is half full or half empty.
If you are a glass half full person, you will not worry about the weather (as Billy Connolly put it, ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes’). You will not be focused on lack of funds to entertain the children over the summer but rather be feeling that it is a good prompt to get creative and come up with ‘back to basics’ ideas.
If you are a glass half empty person, you may notice what is wrong or not working and just need to put more focus on doing things that will help to balance your thinking. The very best way to do this is as follows;
At the end of each day, write down (or think about) three good things that happened during the day
No matter how bad the day, there will always be three good things to be found.
If the day was really bad, the fact that you actually survived may be one, and that you are able to write is two……………..
If you do this each day for three weeks, you will have started an important new habit that will change the way you look at the world and how you feel about it.
In doing, this you will be modelling positive thinking for your child or children. What an incredible gift for life!
To take this a step further, you can write down three good things about them
Ask them for their three good things in their day
Feedback from parents who have done this is incredible. They say that they find out things about their son or daughters life that they didn’t know before or about something that would not have come out had they not asked.
They are often delighted to hear that something that they have done or said is in the three good things. What great feedback to get.
It helps us connect with them in a very unique way and gives us clues as to what really matters
So my invitation to you for the month ahead is to start a new tradition in you home and family. Start (or continue) to notice what is good in your life and theirs and in the world around you. Every day remind yourself of what is special and unique about them. Find out what is good and precious and fun in the life of your child or children
“Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannize their teachers”
Socrates (Ancient Greek Philosopher, 470 BC – 339 BC)
