Yes, this time tested phrase never gets old!
Initially spoken n the days of the Roman Empire, it still rings true today. Embrace each and everyday with your toddlers as there are no guarantees in life. Besides, children grow up way too fast nowadays.
The month of January is usually one in which people are reflective about the past year and try to make goals for the New Year. People are frequently reorganizing the details of their lives, including their work, their health, their spending and so on. Many recommit to an exercise program or other items to which we all have good intentions, but somehow have difficulty accomplishing. That mysterious commodity of time frequently seems to fly right pass us. Nothing prepares us to be parents and often we lack time to read better parenting books.
I recently read a funny sign that said “Don’t Beat Yourself Up . The Mom in E.T. actually had an alien living in her house for days and didn’t even notice!”
If we parents can let go of the past and live in the present, it will serve to bring us fewer regrets. If I could give one bit of advice to all parents it would be to make the most of each and everyday. New opportunities often present themselves, new goals can always be set and many dreams can come true if we allow the scars of the past to simply drift away.
Children only want love, acceptance and direction. We may each have our own ideas of the kind of ideal parent we want to be but often find nothing better prepares us than dealing with the multiple personalities of our children. It’s like in the movie Forest Gump, when he talks about what Mama said “ life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.” His Mama was pretty smart correlating chocolates with life’s circumstances. Pretty simple, right? Well, not really. Have confidence that you, as the parent, are doing the right thing for your child. Each parent does the best they can depending upon their individual circumstances.
So take the time to reevaluate how your parenting year have passed and where you can improve. Nine times of ten it will be carving out more time for sharing with your child, or having more patience with them. One solution to both is found in patiently reading books with your child, sharing your time and helping educate them. It is something quite simple yet consistently brings much joy and the sense of exploration of new things to your little ones.
Consider going to Amazon.com or my own website www.mattandmattie.com for my book Toddler Tootsies Take On the Day!
Have fun with your goals, new habits and adventures! Happy New Year!
See you next month,
Marsha