As caregivers and teachers, it is still worthwhile to be able to have those bonding conversations with families that give us a feel of insight into their beliefs, goals, hearts, and connect to be a working healthy team around a child. It is known a child's chances of success throughout their life and through adulthood, in all aspects of the parts we all have to juggle (fitness, health, community, friends, family, work, etc) that a strong team of caregivers and teachers will increase that child's success rate to 90%. What a phenomenal number just through connection. It is helpful to stay in the know, or up to date on parenting concerns and interests so we can offer ideas and articles for parents to make decisions for.
In sales, it is a consumer law that a salesman must educate you on all of your options so that you, as a consumer, can make the best-educated decisions for yourself. What if we apply this to teaching and parent-teamwork support in our caregiving? This is a concept we can lean on where and when our relationships with parents have the room to grow by sharing resources. We can make suggestions on readings and ideas that parents may have not heard about or need another sign of encouragement. How to talk with families is a healthy part of our lives, a child's life, and the family's life.
In our sessions, we can practice what this looks like, ongoingly nurture those relationships to make your role as a teacher and caregiver one of the bright and shining parts of everyone's day, so that you may also see that in your life from the relationships you are creating. Modeling healthy communication has an abundant ripple effect that can literally change the world. You can be that person who makes a large impact by effectively implementing small efforts that will flow naturally to your role and become an uplifting part of your character.
What we do know is that sleep is healthy for all of us. Establishing routines and some structure around behavior, expectations, and general how-to's in interacting with life is what growing up is all about. We want kids to feel safe, secure, and able. Part of that is by being someone who has these skills. Then modeling skills. By teaching, we have an ability to share the comfort and support of knowing the challenges as well as the joy that comes with learning how to do things for the first time, as well as second, third, etc attempts until we get it. Parents are on the same path either as a first-time parent, juggling all areas of their life with adding new kiddos to the family. What is nice to consider and show some compassion on is, while as a teacher you are in a position of professional development, with a non-attached connection to kids from the physical and emotional aspect that parents are operating from. Teachers are in a classroom, with preparation and ongoing staff support. We have teams and training that keeps our professional development ongoing. Parents are doing the same thing at their jobs, in a completely different field, with different people, in a different environment using different skills. When parents go home, it then becomes time to parent, partner, and self love. It's time for family, as well as giving each person individual attention: being the other family members, each sibling, while also making dinner, preparing meals and clothes for the next day, planning family weekends, and still probably dealing with work. Parents have friends, church, hobbies, community and all of this is a lot! While we are able to do a lot of this as our career at school, it's nice to be a kind and gentle encouragement and save parents a bit of time by sharing about their child's day, reflecting on helpful tips as to what a child is learning, what the next goals are, and how we are implementing this in ways their child enjoys and loves at school. We want to make sure that we are giving parents all of the information, gently and mindfully, to feel able, up to date, and involved in the part of their child's life, the one part where they are trusting someone else with their kiddo's life. It's an important position to be in. One that is empowering, as well as powerful. Delicately, we want to take this seriously and also appreciate the great honor our roles provide for.
We are not trying to sell parents. What we do want to do is make sure all of the information is there so that parents can make empowering moves, choices, and decisions to reflect their child and their family's best interest and well-being. In that way, you, we, can make a beautiful difference with a positive impact in teaming with families in their child's education.
Being present means being aware. It means being fully engaged in what you are doing while you are doing it without distractions of multitasking on another project or thinking about other places or other people. It is being aware of the current moment, tuning in and experiencing it with open feelings to what the opportunity of that moment brings. With our children, it's applying the best values that you can by choosing to be present, consciously being kind and patient, listening, focusing on the needs or tasks in that very minute. In what ways are you not being present? In what areas of your life? How are you not being present at work? How are you not being present with your kids? Or your parents? Or even yourself when it's time to focus on what you need to do to take care of yourself, self-love, self-care, and responsibilities? What about when you are having fun? Or watching a movie/reading a book? Are you present in conversations? Write these down so that you can see what it looks like.
Now when we go back through and visit these areas of your life. Let's now ask, How can you be present in those moments? How can you be present (more attentive, paying attention, listening in and understanding) on phone calls? How can you be present at home, with your partner? How can you be focused when playing and talking with your kids? How about when you are driving? Or walking into work?
What makes you, you in those moments of being present? Who do you want to be? When we focus on what that picture looks like, we can choose to be that person. We can give an agreement to that idea in order to make it become a reality. What do you want people to know or feel about you? What character qualities would you like to have? Are you an attentive and caring good listener in your spousal relationship? Are you a father who makes your kids feel safe to tell you about what is happening in their world and what's on their mind? Are you a mother who is loving and soft and gentle, even after your child makes a mistake or gets emotional? Are you a friend who is cheerful and uplifting? Decide who you want to be. Start mapping out the details of what makes your personality feel good about who you are and agree with yourself to be that very best, pure version of who you were always destined and meant to be. We can give ourselves the permission to be the person we want to be by giving ourselves some time to reflect on who we are. Your character is an innate part of who you were created to be. What is amazing is that we can also fine-tune and be part of designing our personalities to shine in our greatest qualities. Be you and do your best always.
