This is my phone screen lock photo. It’s a picture of my hand holding a heart-shaped clover leaf; it is a gift I was given by one of my boys on a particularly trying day a few years ago.
It’s also my reminder.
On that day (like many days before and since), there was yelling - by adult and child.
There were Words Exchanged.
There was yelling. And shouting. And stomping.
There were slammed doors.
Then, there was cooling off.
There were apologies - by adult and child.
There were hugs and connection and then, this gift. To remind me that he loves me (his words).
It’s so easy to focus on a child's negative behaviours, their defiance, their anger.
So this is my own daily reminder to look beyond a child's behaviour, to remember to connect, and that underneath it all is a sweet kid who struggles and who has the biggest heart.
There were slammed doors.
Then, there was cooling off.
There were apologies - by adult and child.
There were hugs and connection and then, this gift. To remind me that he loves me (his words).
It’s so easy to focus on a child's negative behaviours, their defiance, their anger.
So this is my own daily reminder to look beyond a child's behaviour, to remember to connect, and that underneath it all is a sweet kid who struggles and who has the biggest heart.
One of the reasons I wrote Strong, Smart, Kind and Brave is for it to act as a reminder to all readers - children, parents, teachers, grandparents, and whoever else picks it up - of the same thing:
That we all make mistakes, but that those mistakes don't define us.
That we are not our mistakes, we are SO MUCH more - we are talented, and kind, and incredible. ❤️