As we make resolutions for the new year, I'm sure we will all be thinking about how we can be better parent, spend quality time with our kids and nurture healthy relationships in the family. I came across this wonderful article http://tinyurl.com/ybf43go with a list of the top ten things students around the world said they remembered and loved most about their mothers. It was reassuring to see that despite my craving to make ambitious plans for the year, it's the simple things they love. I thought I would share...
1. Come into my bedroom at night, tuck me in and sing me a song. Also tell me stories about when you were little.
2. Give me hugs and kisses
and sit and talk with me privately.
3. Spend quality time just with me, not with my brothers and sisters around.
4. Give me nutritious food so I can grow up healthy.
5. At dinner talk about what we could do together on the weekend.
6. At night talk to me about about anything; love, school, family etc.
7. Let me play outside a lot.
8. Cuddle under a blanket and watch our favorite TV show together.
9. Discipline me. It makes me feel like you care.
10. Leave special messages in my desk or lunch bag.
Doesn't this sound weird? What student uses the words "nutritious" or "discipline" in anything but a report? Kids of an age to want to be cuddled and read to don't make sentences like these.
ReplyDeleteAnd the students seem to like talking about what they'll do on the weekend more than actually doing something on the weekend. Weirdness.
I disagree, about the weirdness. The sentiments are wonderful. We worry so much, being mothers, about being not enough. This shows that just by being mothers, we are enough.
ReplyDeleteI spent my week of vacation this week doing one-on-one with them both, and did almost everything on this list. I worried about the failed cooking project I planned and the undone Christmas CD project (too late now). This list makes me feel proud of all that I did.
Trying not to use this space to advertise, but I found these wonderful lunchboxes over the summer at frecklebox.com - they are personalized old-fashioned ones (square, metal) that have chalkboard material in the inner lid. I write quick messages to my six-year-old and draw pics for my four-year-old every day. They LOVE it. And it makes me feel like I can be there, even when I'm not.
Kids are the good stuff in life. The rest is just space and time.
ReplyDeleteLoved this list, read it to my husband so tears could well up for both of us. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteThis is a delightful list, simple, easy to do. It's a reminder about the important things in life - time and attention.
ReplyDelete