Procrastination and lack of motivation drive me nuts!
My youngest child is incredibly strategic. An admirable quality and one that makes me scream at the same time.
When he was 6 years old, he had a writing sheet to complete: the letter “t”. You know the pages, the dotted lines where the child traces and few letters and then completes the rest of the line or page on their own.
“I’m done!” my son proclaims. In 10 seconds, he completed a full page.
Filled with doubt I turned to him, “let me see, please.”
He had.
The kid drew lines from the top of the page to the bottom and right to left, and in doing so, had completed the entire page in less than 10 seconds.
The little bugger.
The strategic little bugger.
Right then, that’s when we knew this kid was keen to take shortcuts. He’s nine now and keeping us on our toes every day.
Rewind the clock a few years — he was a toddler tackling a middle of the night marshmallow heist. Yup, he navigated to the top shelf of the kitchen cabinets to grab what should have been out of reach.
Missed Lessons in the Parenting Handbook
You know — the one about your 3 year old’s marshmallow and gummy vitamin kitchen heist in the middle of the night?
medium.com
Today, he negotiates and can execute a line of questioning to sway a discussion to his point of view masterfully.
If you are a parent and about to pull your hair out, be reminded — you are not alone.
When your child is challenging you, step back and observe the skills they are showing; allow yourself to see beyond the behaviour to the attributes they are displaying.
Often you’ll note ingenuity, creativity and inspiring leadership skills — and you’ll surprize yourself with a refreshing perspective that will let you keep your hair and your sanity.
From one parent navigating life with a trying child to a community who just might be able to relate,
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Ben White on Unsplash
