I am one of the first people to preach the importance of allowing your kids to experience disappointment and discomfort and failure.
To allow them to sit in discomfort without swooping in to rescue them and to make things better.
And then today I was presented with one of those situations.
I am not presenting the specifics of the situation because in all honesty, they don’t matter.
But Number 7 was very upset.
There was lots of crying and lots of pleading.
And I gotta say, I really had a hard time with it.
I really wanted to rescue her.
The situation she was in could have been handled in many ways.
The way I would have chosen to handle it was not the way it was being handled.
And without even realizing it, I went into rescue mode and I began to make my case.
I presented my argument, and I was told, “There is more than one way to handle this.”
And that was totally true.
There are multiple ways to solve problems.
And sometimes, although we like to think our way is the best way, maybe it isn’t.
Or maybe it is, but the other approach will also be effective.
The reality is that our children are going to encounter hundreds of different approaches from hundreds of different people throughout the course of their lives.
And only allowing our approach is doing them a disservice because it is not preparing them for the real world and what they will encounter.
Different teachers, different coaches, different bosses will all have different approaches.
So I had to check myself.
I also needed some perspective and I had to remind myself that this was not a life or death situation.
What happened today would not traumatize Number 7. She would be fine eventually.
And she was.
About thirty minutes later, she had composed herself. She was happy. She was smiling. She was playing with her friends.
And you know what?
Earlier today I was sure my approach to the situation was the best one.
But now I’m not so sure. Maybe in the long run, the way things went down today was the best course of action for her.
There is one thing I do know.
Today I allowed Number 7 — and myself — to be uncomfortable.
We both survived.
And I think we are both a little stronger and a little wiser because of it.
Wanna look cute while you work out?
Wanna look cute while you don’t work out?
JOIN MY BADASS ZYIA COMMUNITY.
Leave a Reply