Children teach us
When you first think of raising youngsters, whether your own or someone else’s, there might be a list of priority issues to focus on, besides taking care of their general wellness. It might be a certain etiquette, set of beliefs, special skills, etc. You would soon realize that you are not the only source of information and you would be given few lessons in the process.
There are those moments when you would reflect back to your youth and remember being at the other end of the advice. Perhaps this time you will hear a different response than yours, a different point of view, and different triggered questions.
You may guess how your parents where thinking and try to come up with a more useful answer than what you have been given in your early start. You would base the answer on your understanding and then be bombarded with a different sequence of thoughts. The oscillation between your youth and present age, the student and teacher, it would be a valuable time ponder and recap. This will show you a different point of view and whether you incorporate it into your own remains a matter of choice. The main lesson is that we think and learn differently. That is what my son teaches me all the time as he arrives with a different understanding than mine and it is a challenge to make sure that I can communicate the point clearly.
Sometimes when I want to respond to my children’s mischievousness, I think to myself: “How will they look back at this moment? Do I want them to remember me shouting at them, or set an example of patience for them to live up to?”
Given the fact that I remember a lot of events from my childhood (even though my memory is worse than a dead goldfish), I can only imagine that they will remember the times when I lose my temper and the times I treat them with patience and respect.
But respect and patience will have to wait until they get a bit older. Their too annoying at the moment.