Sunday, September 23, 2012

Lazy days and parenting from the heart...


We absolutely had a lazy day today!

We finished reading George's Marvellous Medicine

Louis, Dylan and Ethan didn't even get out of their pyjama's!

Jayden fell asleep in the afternoon after a major meltdown the poor little thing.  I just held him, he was so upset, kicking and hitting at me.  He wanted his Daddy though and as soon as he went into his arms he was asleep within the minute...

It's been a really big lesson of mine to learn to keep my cool when my boys have outbursts.  I don't always succeed but I'm getting better and better at it.  They really need us to be in a calm, stable place when they throw a tantrum.  I really used to let it bother me, and I would start to raise my voice, or be really frustrated at them.  It so doesn't help.  They are looking to us to learn how to handle their emotions and I realised I was really failing to teach them this by the way I was reacting! 

How I see it is when we are feeling emotional, or we're over it and we've cracked it, the last thing we want is for someone else to start yelling at us, telling us we're a cry baby or sending us away to deal with it all by ourselves.  When we're feeling vulnerable we usually want someone to wrap their arms around us and comfort us. 

I understand this is all easier said than done, but I have found it to be critical in building a closer connection to my boys.  The last thing I want them to do is grow up angry and emotional but unable to express it in a healthy way.  Or even worse, bottle it all up and pay out on themselves (and others). 

As parents, we tend to carry out what we were brought up with.  Our parents may have done the very best they could with us, but most didn't have the tools and resources that we have today.   We have the ability to learn ways of parenting that will enable us to really enjoy the connection and friendship with our children, and work as more of a team.  Of course we need to have rules and boundaries with our kids, however there is a line between expecting a child to jump when we say so and jumping together holding hands. 

Moving on...

The 3 bigger boys had energy to spare so we headed outside and set up a bit of an obstacle course.  They were only competing against themselves which works best for us most of the time.  I don't really need to encourage any more competition between them!  They loved it and kept running trying to improve their time.  Was a great fun way to get them outside...I was too busy playing with them to get any photo's! 

We also had a try blowing bubbles on the table. I got the idea from here.  It worked so great!  I didn't use any measurements but just used a small jug of water with a fair squeeze of detergent.  I wiped it over the counter, grabbed a straw, dipped it into the jug of soapy water and blew!  Louis managed to make a bubble inside a bubble which was great!  The boys all had success with this although Jayden, only 2 years old, needed some coaching to blow very slowly. 

Louis was very impressed with his bubble!

Some of the bubbles were huge!


Louis' bubble inside a bubble!

The kids played happily in the afternoon and Michael and I even managed to cuddle up on the couch to watch a movie!  (with plenty of interruptions and kiddie cuddles!)

Honestly, it's these days that make my heart almost burst with happiness!  My family is just more important to me than anything...I'm so lucky (and proud) to be a Stay at home Mum!!  It's the most rewarding job there could be...

No comments:

Post a Comment