Over the past little while I have taken up the practice of looking at my children and thinking of them as I would think of one of my very best friends.
I can tell you that it has been an eye opening experience for me.
For some reason that I have yet to comprehend, I am very selfish and prideful when it comes to interacting with my children.
Viewing my children as I view my best friends has helped me see them from a different perspective.
Continue reading To be a Friend to my Children
This is a topic I have been wanting to write about for a while now, but my research on it has been incomplete. I continue to gather data but I am realizing that my complete research on this will probably not be done for many more years. Therefore, I am releasing my findings to date because I think this is an important and fascinating concept.
It is my observation that parents do not raise kids. It is in fact the opposite. Kids raise parents. Why else do you think that kids do not come with instructions?
Continue reading Parents Do Not Raise Kids
I had another parental inspiration the other day. It came as my son was asking me for something and I immediately said “no” without even really hearing what he was asking about.
The inspiration I received made me stop and compare how I was interacting with my son, with how my Heavenly Father interacts with me (a habit of mine).
I ask my Heavenly Father for things all the time. There is so much I need every day. Is He quick to say “no” to me? He is not. I know that Heavenly Father is patient, loving, and kind. He responds to my requests using those traits.
What traits do I use when responding to my son? Impatience, selfishness, pride? Why? I love my son. Why would I choose to be so abrupt and unkind in responding to him?
Apparently I have picked up a bad habit, for whatever reason. It could have developed for any number of reasons. Perhaps it is a natural response to his own personality which conflicts with my own. My son has a personality that is similar to my mine. This make sense, since I am his father and example. A great majority of what he learns is from what I teach him by the example I set for him. The fact that he has his own will, which, I have learned, I cannot bend, probably causes me to become defensive.
Whatever the cause, I am glad that I have realized how I react. Now that I recognize my bad habit, I can start to change my behavior.
This being a parent thing is such a great learning experience!