Larry's Musings

MEMOS FROM YOUR CHILD

• Don't spoil me. I know quite well I shouldn't have all I ask for. I'm only testing you.
• Don't be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer it; it makes me feel secure.
• Don't let me form bad habits. I have to rely on you to detect them in the early stages.
• Don’t make me feel smaller than I am. It only makes me behave stupidly "big."
• Don't correct me in front of people if you can help it. I'll take much more notice if you talk quietly in private.
• Don't protect me from consequences, I need to learn the painful way sometime.
• Don't make me feel my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.
• Don't be too upset when I say, "I hate you." It isn't you I hate, but your power to thwart me.
• Don't take too much notice of my small ailments. Sometimes they get the attention I need.
• Don't nag. If you do, I'll have to protect myself by appearing deaf.
• Don't make rash promises. I feel badly let down when promises are broken.
• Don't forget that I can't explain myself as well as I'd like. This is why I'm not always very accurate.
• Don't tax my honesty too much. I am easily frightened into telling lies.
• Don't be inconsistent. It completely confuses me and makes me lose my faith in you.
• Don't put me off when I ask questions. If you do, you'll find I stop asking and seek information elsewhere.
• Don't tell me my fears are silly. They're terribly real.
• Don't ever suggest that you're perfect or infallible. It gives me too great a shock when I find out you're neither.
• Don't ever think it's beneath your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me surprisingly warm toward you.
• Don't forget I love experimenting. I can't get on without it, so please put up with it.
• Don't forget how quickly I'm growing up. It must be hard to keep pace with me, but please try.

When you read this carefully, you realize the important truths that lie behind each reminder. Pass it along to your friends who are parents. Post it up on your bathroom mirror for helpful support when the days with your preschoolers seem too much.

Children would tell us these things, if they could only articulate them.
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© Growing Child 2008 Please feel free to forward this article to a friend.

My wife forwarded this to me today from Growing Child, a newsletter we started receiving as a benefit as a PeopleSoft employee in 1999. If your employer doesn't provide this to you, I would highly recommend subscribing to it yourself.

posted by Larry Grey @ 11:13 AM