Slow down!
“Mummy’s in a rush!”
“Can you please walk faster, we’re going to be late.”
For many parents today, their children are just one of many important balls they are juggling.
I know, that might sound harsh but it’s sadly often true.
We’re rushing to work, to school, to beat the traffic, to get to the front of the queue, to that parking space…
Sometimes we rush when we don’t even need to rush just because we’re so used to rushing and because everybody else around us is rushing.
This rushing has such an impact on everything we do.
Mostly I think it affects our kids.
It influences the way we talk to our children, the connections we make and the patience we have to teach them
One of the reasons I left Education to home educate our boys was because I didn’t want them to be subjected to that culture of chaos.
That “next, next, next” attitude.
That said, I’m not immune to rushing but when I catch myself doing it unnecessarily I try to press PAUSE.
Take this afternoon for example…I was rushing my son home as we walked home from playgroup.
His baby brother had started fidgeting in my arms and I needed to get dinner ready.
Truth be told I just wanted a cup pf tea on the sofa.
He’d stopped walking and didn’t start up again despite me calling him.
He was coaching down.
I resisted the urge to call him again, to tell him to get up and start walking.
To lecture him about what needed cooking, cleaning, putting away before bedtime.
Instead, I walked over to him, bent down and asked what he was up to.
“I’m trying to collect these beech nuts” he pointed to the pile on the floor. “I want to plant them. Then they will be a forest when I’m bigger.” he added thoughtfully.
How awesome is that!?
Instantly I felt more relaxed.
My kid has taken it upon himself to plant a forest!
I helped him to fill his pockets and we walked home happily together.
I understand that as parents sometimes we’ve just got to get stuff done but how often could we actually press pause?
Do we want our children to be creative, imaginative, inventive, compassionate and curious or simply obedient?
How often do we inadvertently stunt their curious, imaginative and adventurous minds?
Can we engage more and demand less?
Can we offer a little more time to finish the task that has them so engrossed?
Can WE wait?
Can WE slow down?
Can WE prioritize their world for a moment?
Sometimes it’s OK to miss the bus and spend an hour looking for shore-line treasures instead.
Slowing down doesn’t actually mean achieving less.
Most of us adults have been programed to rush through life, to follow the crowd…to stick to the path.
Kids aren’t like that.
Shouldn’t we do all we can to keep them that way?
