All the changes that are occurring this year in our house has made me realize something. I have to change within myself. The way I used to parent isn't the same. It can't be. All the rituals and routines that once defined our family have changed. What my kids once needed from me, they no longer need. And as gratifying as it is to watch them grow up into young adults, I have to realize they are individuals and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for the other! When I look back, I realize how well my parents handled the teen years. Maybe it was because I was so good! lol Seriously, I don't remember them being overprotective of me. They let me make choices and decisions and supported me in them.
So, now we are at at a different time and place in life and I have to be a different kind of mother. A mother who knows how to back off! A mother who knows how to let go. A mother who has her own life and isn't so caught up in every area of her kids lives. A mother who cares a great deal less about what time people in her house go to bed. And what they eat for breakfast. Whether they wear a coat. And what they do with their free time. Even though it isn't exactly what I want them to be doing, it's not wrong. It's just their choice. I have to trust them. And I have to remember that the greatest gift I can give my children is to love them just exactly as they are.
I love this post and totally agree. I think in allowing our kids to make their own decisions in small things like what to eat for breakfast or wearing a pair of shorts in cold weather gives them practice on making more important decisions in life as they grow. It helps them to become more independent and allows them to become self-sufficient adults.
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