Parents are the biggest influence on a child’s life. A parent’s job is to mold and shape a child to function productively in society. While, family values vary from family to family, most want at the core the same things for their children. I have yet to meet a well intentioned parent who did not want a happy, compassionate, well-rounded, and wise child. We may want a doctor or a lawyer in the family but above all we want healthy and happy children. We also want children who show proper discernment and made good decisions in reference to time management.
This begs the question, how do we infuse our child with a proper self esteem so he can live a productive and happy life? I believe that answer is simple. A child will aspire to great things through a parent’s example. A parent does not have to be the inventor of the light bulb or the CEO of Microsoft to raise a child to achieve high educational and personal goals. A parent must be open, willing to share, willing to grow and willing to be held accountable to his actions to raise a child to succeed academically and emotionally.
In my home, I am not an early bird. In fact, I am an all around poor time management kind of gal. Short goal oriented, singular focused, and free spirited, I have not always set the proper example for my children. While, there is nothing wrong with being a free spirit or singular in focus or even short goal oriented, it does have drawbacks for a homeschool mom of four. I would try to set up these elaborate chore charts or school contests that would span a number of months resulting in a big reward. Instead of seeing it through, the result was cutting the process short because I forgot to maintain my contest. I would never remember to check chore charts or check them off, so my kids knew they could go a day or two only doing half their chores. So, I am raising late starters who do only half jobs that see by example follow through is not important. It would be better to never start a fun contest than begin one only to end in disaster. Creating a timeline has become a running joke in my home; since I plan one every year but never follow through on the assignment. So, my children learned that long term assignments never had meaning. They also displayed what I was teaching by not taking school seriously or trying to get out of work. You see, they followed my example and if I were not prepared to take on an assignment or my day seriously, why should they?
Instead of beating myself up anymore about my shortcomings, I decided to use them for good instead of evil. We all know change is hard and takes time. Time is not always a luxury we can afford while raising children. While, I encourage you to work on your shortcomings, I also encourage you to explore options for the ones you currently display.
For example, I used my short term goal oriented mentality to put together week long contests instead of once spanning the semester. I displayed follow through but on a level even I could handle. I took my kids step by step through rough areas of study with my singular focus and have seen positive results. It has taught my children to keep at a problem and not give up. However, I made the executive decision to give up on a timeline. Many children go on to bigger and better things without ever making a huge all year long timeline. I used my free spirit to engage my children in nature, music and art. My creative approach to these subjects taught them to think outside the box. Oh and my early bird ways; that just simply has to change in my opinion.
I will still work on my shortcomings to improve myself as a person. Yet, I have found that my love of books inspires a love a books. My love of nature inspires a love of nature. My willingness to adapt and admit my failings also teaches valuable lessons. Admitting that I am not perfect and have rough areas yet work within my bounds has taught them that perfection is not expected and to be happy with who they are and use their talents. Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” I want my kids to strive to be the best they can be which means I must show them that I strive for the same.
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