I just L-O-V-E, love Scott Noelle at Enjoying Parenting! His daily emails are inspirational, challenging, thought provoking, and encouraging. Scott really has a gift of showing us what is so blatantly obvious, but somehow society has managed to snugly secure blinders over our eyes preventing us from seeing what has always been there; pure, gentle spirits.Our nature as humans really is pretty simple. We are creatures of habit, and when our habits get changed to something less than desirable we can flounder there forever if left unchallenged. Scott provides that challenge in a kind and gentle way. He is so simple and loving in his presentation that I often find myself thinking, "Well, duh! Why on earth don't I think that way already?"
It is SO very easy to get caught up in the daily grind that we can slip right into negative behavior and bad decision making and be completely unaware of just exactly where we have allowed ourselves to go in our thinking and behavior. Left unchecked, as humans we can go rapidly into a downward spiral. Our children are first, right after ourselves, in the line of those effected by the decisions we choose to make.
When you think about it, our children are really quite vulnerable to our behavior. They are directly effected by our state of mind and actions. I know my kids are VERY in tune with me. If something is bothering me, and (I think) I have not given any outward indication to that fact, my children ALWAYS ask me what is wrong. I am definitely a person that wears my heart on my sleeve, but even when I want to keep things under wraps it is impossible to do so in regard to my children. So, if they are so susceptible to something we are trying not to share just imagine how they are impacted by those things that we do without thought on a daily basis. The impact is profound!
I always think of little ones as a sponge. They go around soaking up everything around them until they are overflowing. Imagine the difference we can make if their little sponge selves are filled with positive emotion, creative thinking, and useful information. In my thinking filling them with good things better equips them to keep the negative things at bay. A sponge that is already full has no room for more. You have to squeeze out some of the water down the drain in order for more to be soaked up. What better to refill our child sponges with than good, clean parental interaction. Modeling positive and creative thinking for them as youngsters can only have a positive impact on them as they grow and mature; not to mention the bond you create with yourself and your children through such positive interaction in childhood.Take the time to visit Scott's web site, Enjoy Parenting. You and your children can only benefit from the resources and articles available there. Scott's advice is perfect for parents that have children of all ages. At first glace it may seem like his information is only directed toward parents of young children, but my youngest is soon to be 15 years old, and I still love reading Scott's daily emails. They're FREE, so you might as well sign up while you are there!
