177 Frances Street, RR#5, Mitchell, Ontario N0K 1N0
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177 Frances Street, RR#5, Mitchell, Ontario N0K 1N0 |
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Keeping Perspective
Whether you are the parent of an infant who has cried all day, the parent of a toddler who is just starting to exert his/her own independence, the parent of a tired preschooler who is “not your friend anymore”, or the mother of a school aged child who has forgotten snow pants in the middle of winter, you are probably ready to pull your hair out! Keeping perspective is definitely most difficult for a parent.
How we look at situations determines our reactions and every now and then it is good to take stock of our thoughts. When you seem to be at your whit’s end, try to think of 3 things you like most about your child. You may have a little one who is constantly goofing off and joking around; remember that you love his smile and you can’t have one without the other. If you have a little person who is always being bossy, remember that is their independent nature. At the same time you may admire that same little person for being able to choose activities and put on his/her own clothes. Remember that a crying baby may soon be asleep and you will see how peaceful his/her sleep can be; this will help you to get through another day.
Try to think big picture; 20 years from now the fact that your child spilled milk will not mean a thing. Perhaps you will notice then, how cleaning up after his/her spills has taught your child to take care of things.
Sometimes gaining perspective comes from reading something that moves us.
A Prayer for Children
We pray for children
Who sneak popsicles before supper.
Who erase holes in math workbooks
Who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those who stare at photographs from behind barbed wire
Who can’t bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers
Who never counted potatoes
Who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead
Who never go to the circus
Who live in an x-rated world.
We pray for children
Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
We pray for those
Who never get desert
Who have no safety blanket to drag behind them
Who watch their parents watch them die
Who can’t find any bread to steal
Who don’t have any rooms to clean up
Whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser
Whose monsters are real
We pray for children
who spend their allowance before Tuesday
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food
who like ghost stories
who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse out the tub
who get visits from the tooth fairy
who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool
who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry
We pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime
Who will eat anything
Who have never seen a dentist
Who aren’t spoiled by anybody
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep
Who live and move but have no being
We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must
For those who we never give up on and
For those who don’t get a second chance
For those we smother and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.
Original Author unknown
Poem taken from http://preschooleducation.com/ppoem.shtml
To anyone who ever had a chance to parent, remember how truly lucky you are, and how richly your life has been blessed. Remember every smile, every kiss, every picture, remember they are just children – great children with amazing powers and you will keep perspective!
Written by Pamela Shewan – West Perth Early Years Coordinator
To view previous Parent Corner topics click below:
Activities for cold winter days
Tips for Lunches & Snacks with appeal
Are your children ready to learn as they enter school?
Need to find relief from holiday stress?
Perth Care For Kids is committed to supporting the importance of early childhood education and development by offering a variety of flexible, quality programs and services for children, families and caregivers.
We are proud to be the host agency for the Perth-Middlesex Early Years Centres.