LET THEM BE

There are days when parenting seems like such a breeze. I can simply check off those boxes:

< Had a life-changing morning routine

< 5 Servings of fruits and veggies

< Protein with every meal

< Healthy snack options done and dusted

< Outside play, no screen time, read 7 books

< Easy bed time

< And you probably have a way better list to check off than me.

But then, there are those days when you're probably thinking " I did not sign up for this. I'm failing at this miserably."

On most days like this, I realise that the exhaustion and frustration for me came from just saying "No" or "Don't do this" a kazillion times. Not that it's bad to say "no" ( and yes, I am aware of parenting schools of thought that encourage creative ways of turning kids down - good on you for doing that, but my vocabulary is quite limited when it comes to saying no :P). But just hearing myself say it over and over again, man, even I feel bad to be my kids on those days.

In those moments, I seem to forget how a child lives life - learning so much through experiences; the living of it, the discoveries along the way. Probably the best way to learn. And then, my assertive no's even for the littlest of things may set off a chain of reactions in the child that snowball into a miserable day for everyone.

Curiosity may have killed the cat but I'd like to think that curiosity sparked life for a child as they saw the world in awe and wonder. The problem is that when kids get curious, they don't usually comply with boxes that society defines for kids to learn through a controlled system called education and schooling. The curious kid could be loud, boisterous, quiet, shy or even wild at times. Do they have room to explore their worlds in their own ways, on their own time? Most often the answer to that question is confronting. Our schedules filled lives as adults probably interrupt their little adventures daily but we would see it the other way around (being interrupted by an awe struck kid on their way to discover something new).

This is something I truly want to work on. I want to challenge myself to let my kids be curious - unrestrained, mesmerized, awe struck and free, just as they were designed to be.I don't need a pat on my back for raising the world's most well behaved children. I want my children to have lived fully and loved fully, to have seen and experienced the world in all its' glory.

I want to just LET THEM BE!