We all strive to teach our children. In our attempt to train up a child in the way that he should go, we sometimes miss the mark. In fact, what is it that we really are teaching our children?
An Early Childhood Educator I am not.
Hygiene:
I have tried to teach my daughter that it is important to wash your hands after you eat or use the loo, really any time your hands get messy. Instead, I’m realising that the things she was watching were not the things I was saying or trying to model.
Every time I change her nappy I tell her that we always wash hands after using the loo. Actually priding myself for thinking of this now when she’s in nappies so it is well established when the real potty training begins. But as I was taking the old nappy and whizzing it across the room cheering myself (sometimes not all that secretly) for making a basket in the bin, she wasn’t hearing the hand wash diatribe. No, instead what I’ve taught her was that when she is able to undo her nappy herself, to take it and hurl it across the room with reckless abandon; not giving a single thought to where the nappy’s contents land.
Reading, Writing, Maths. Well I don’t do maths…
We have been so careful in what we allow Little Poppet to watch on the telly and have even taken that care over into what toys or stickers we buy her. Education always at the forefront of our decisions. We’ve spent quite a lot of money on Sesame Street DVDs (we have to pay for them to be posted from the US on ebay) and even a video such as The Cat in the Hat (the original cartoon – not the ‘film’ which we will NEVER own or watch) was purchased with the idea that the songs and such were so praised in the 1960s for Dr. Seuss’s ability to help expand the vocabulary of the children who watch it.
Yes, Little Poppet has learned the alphabet, quite well in fact. I’m sure rhyming is also something she will benefit from. Won’t she?
More likely I’ve taught her to play rugby with the fish bowl or how to dress like a muppet!
Speech Therapy wasn’t up there either…
When we read her lovely books we think we are teaching her how to speak clearly and maybe even grammar. Awaiting her gentle words such as would befall the lips of Rabbit or Piglet. Might be a long wait because kids clearly learn to say what Daddy says when he stubs his toe; stated in just the right company.Nutritionist. Nope not that either.
We feed only healthy foods to her so we have high hopes here. Of course, we do indulge ourselves in some not so healthy things. We really are going to give them up to be a better example to her one day. Maybe before she goes off to university. No, what we see her ‘self feeding’ are things like baby wipes or a sock, paper and the occasional puzzle piece.Puppeteer. Closer but not a good one…
When our daughter does something to make us proud (which is honestly EVERY moment of EVERY day) of course we want to show her off. We beam proudly recounting the moment she took her first steps or how she can say the entire alphabet to grandparents and friends. Ah yes, the moment when we say ‘watch this’ which just precedes the seemingly endless two minutes where she looks at us baffled as to who we are or how she ended up in our presence. No, she is not a performing puppy. To be fair, years ago when I had a puppy, the puppy didn’t do anything I tried to teach it either.
This is probably best not mentioned even. Unless they give awards for not getting your child to sleep until 1AM or giving her lunch at 3PM. Oh, of course, this is the exception not the rule. Unless once a week is more than an exception. It isn’t like you can serve lunch at noon when she’s only just awakened at 10.30AM can you? I mean, sure breakfast at noon, but lunch?? Crazy!
What the future holds…
This is one of those things where you initially think ‘What a brilliant idea! We’re downright genius’s! One day we’ll write a paper on this that will be published by all the credible and prestigious universities.’
Then, as you see the way things really unfold, such as those mentioned above, and you begin to take pause and wonder. At first you wonder silently. A fleeting moment of
Like the hitting phase. I was shocked that my little one would hit. It realistically was just a pat on the face that went wrong (was a bit too hard) and my shocked response made her do it more since she’s never even seen the Muppets hit each other. But in my attempt to teach her hitting is wrong (and since I don’t agree with smacking since that sort of just teaches kids that hitting is okay so long as you’re the bigger one that can hit the hardest) I made her say sorry and give me a kiss. This was fine for a minute or two then she decided she could hit or pinch or pull hair anytime she wanted so long as she gave me a kiss just after. Yep, I’m a genius.
As well, we have always praised Little Poppet for nearly everything she has ever done. When she was a baby I started telling her what a ‘good burp’ that was because it meant her food would stay down. When she has a poo we cheer her, especially when she alerts me to the nappy needing a change. Of course, who can hold back praise when your little on is dancing wildly in an attempt to release the excess wind from the aforementioned healthy food she’s eaten? Will we still be ‘high fiving’ her at McDonalds one day when she’s 14 and she’s done some ‘windy pops’?
Seriously, Little Poppet is the best little girl I could ever have hoped for. There is nothing imperfect about her and nothing that I would change. (Well, bedtime maybe). She has far exceeded my dreams and hopes and anything I thought I was missing out on I now know is just the opposite. I am privy to a secret place in Heaven, only shared with a few whilst still here on earth. And I will forever praise God for her!
