"BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD." - GANDHI

Sunday, May 9, 2010

A Balance Act

It has taken me forever to put my thoughts here, but here goes...
(I can ramble and digress so bear with me!!)

Every child is unique and comes to this world with his or her strengths and challenges.
Dont glare at me and tell me you have heard this before and from the mouths of greats...I know...I am just borrowing thoughts and reflecting on them...because as I sail this Parenting Ship,there is one fact that never changes,
Someone has been there, seen that and done that!!

As a parent I have my own unique challenges and that hampers me from doing things in a certain way.
As a parent I have my unique strengths and that helps me do things in a certain way.

Now replace Parent with Child and still the truth in that remains unchanged.

I have 2 very different children and each of them is challenging me in different ways.
While one thrives on routine and rules, the other rebels at any hint of routine or rule!
While one likes less choice, the other wants a multitude and yet still be dissatisfied, opting to do things in a way that I have not even thought about!
While one is calm and undisturbed by outside forces the other is an ocean in turmoil whose tsunamic outbursts threaten us from to time!

In all of these observations and experiences I can only say that understanding the child: needs, likes/dislikes, expectations, roles they play at every stage
understanding ourself: needs, likes/dislikes, expectations and roles we play at every stage... is the most important part of parenting.

Parenting is also an active interaction between the caregivers, child, family, society, and community.

It is an intricate web that we bring this child into and as We understand they too will begin to interpret, but Their interpretations also help us understand!

Keeping ourselves flexible and open to change helps us in this balancing act.

(Please feel free to comment!...I am Big enough to Take it!!)

2 comments:

  1. Very true Sowmya.......agree with you totally!
    And am absolutely thrilled that you penned your thoughts to contribute to this blog! Keep going!

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  2. Nice piece Sow... lot to learn from awesome parents like you, Priya, Siva, Kala, Shobs etc... it's amazing how you have observed the subtle and huge differences in the two and still have immense strength to flex your thinking according to each of their individual moments!

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