Sometimes You Have to Just Sit Back…

Posted by Sara Schmidt on Nov 09, 2010 - 01:28 PM

...and watch the destruction.

If we want our kids to be autonomous, we can't expect them to want everything we want, or be the same as we are. This means that their goals may be different from ours--from the smallest things to the larger ones. I'm thankful that I'm learning this early on as my five-year-old expresses herself and often has different ideas about things than I do.

One thing that she's been surprising me with lately is her arts and crafts projects. She comes up with some pretty amazing uses for our projects, and while sometimes I am just astounded by how cool they are, sometimes I am... less than enthused. Still, I have to maintain my neutrality and let her use her creativity as she pleases.

Here is a prime example of how I was emotionally attached to a piece of artwork that she wanted to use as something else. Luckily, I'm learning to get over this sort of thing now. I don't think that means it will get any easier as she ages, but perhaps when I'm faced with her choices of friends, interests, music, and anything else, I will be a little more prepared and used to supporting her no matter what--and not judging her by her choices.