Not claiming to be an expert mother, I want to offer some insight to mothering that I think might be beneficial. These things can help both the mother , child and who ever walks into their lives long after the child leaves home. The tried and true suggestions have returned to me many times over as being proven good ideas. My grown children have thanked me in other than only words, passed on some of my teachings to others and I am sharing them with you now. Take them or consider them as you determine.
The single most important element in young ( ages 2 to 4 ) is consistantcy. If one day they are allowed to do something and the next they are forbidden it gets confusing to the developing mind. If, however one day a certain activity is alright and not appropriate at another time, explanations for the reasoning can be brought to the level of understanding to the child. Now we touched the second most vital ingredient which is explaining. I still personally like to be told the components of what it is that is expected of me in many situations. Don't you?
Listening can be key to rearing little ones right into adulthood, which is perhaps why we have 2 ears. So much can be discovered by being a fly on the wall. No one needs to know that a mother can do more than one thing at once. Needless to say ; listen to many conversations and grasp understanding from several sources at the same time too.
Gathering information from several areas can be like duplicating oneself in parenting. It does not mean that you have to believe everything you latch your hearing to, but put it in your memory for use if and when that becomes necessary.
Believing in small children is not always easy or absolutely trustworthy either. Make believe can be exercised for periods of time that make the book of raising children look archaic. If, with deep feeling you determine it is fantasy, try not to repremand or relabel those as lies. Creativity is to be nurtured unless it remains in all aspects of growing up years in an unhealthy proportion. If you are truthful to your children, they will have the best model to replicate themselves after forever. When a neighbor calls and you tell an untruth about being in the tub, when you are actually standing right next to the person answering the phone, that is not a good example for your children.It is a little white lie, and they will think little lies are acceptable.
More to come in step two of being a good mother.
