“The best gift you can give children is to keep yourself emotionally, physically, spiritually and intellectually happy.”
Our society focuses so much on taking care of moms’ emotions and physical well-being. Spiritual support, in all of its forms, is also common. But what about intellect? Have you ever heard someone ask a mom, “Hey, what are you learning about right now?” No. Why? How can we be expected to teach our kids to be curious unless we are learners ourselves? I’ll be the first to admit that I get sucked right into this. Most of my mom-to-mom conversations just revolve around our kids. I don’t even know what some of my friends are into besides their kids! But, this intellect thing is really important to me—like the author of “The Danish Way of Parenting” describes—it’s equal to my mental and physical health! Know how when you don’t get enough sleep and you’re just off all day? That’s how I am if I’m not learning, mentoring/teaching/helping someone, and/or working on a project. I have to keep my mind busy. Spending time listening to an audiobook while driving, taking an online course while my kids nap, or working on a creative project as they independently play makes me a better mama. It also reminds me that I am more than just a mama. And that makes me a happy parent my little ones can already look up to—even if they think I’m as weird as Noutin did in this picture from a month ago. Let’s get this conversation going, what are you learning about right now? What are you curious about? What are you creating? I’ll go first in the comments below. Quote: The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids by Iben Dissing Sandahl and Jessica Joelle Alexander
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February 2020
CategoriesNatalie PriesterI'm a teacher, mama, and mentor. I created the You Before School e-course and more. I'm here to encourage and share self-efficacy skills for women. |