Friday, September 21, 2007

At the Risk of Being Called a Blogging Copy-Cat...

I saw this on Kim's blog today and liked it so much that I decided to post the whole thing directly in my blog for everyone to read, rather than posting a link to Kim's blog. Do stop by Kim's blog, though, if you ever have a chance. It's one of my favorites and she is a GREAT mother--one I totally relate to and look up to!!

"Here's another great "Daily Groove" message that I found in my inbox this morning!

THE DAILY GROOVE ~ by Scott Noelle
www.enjoyparenting.com/dailygroove

:: The One-Body Principle ::

Suppose your right leg began twitching for no apparent
reason. If it persisted, you'd do something about it.
You might massage your leg or take some vitamins
that support nerve functions.

But you wouldn't yell at your leg or threaten to hurt
it! Nor would you ignore it and think, "It's the leg's
problem, not mine." Such responses wouldn't make
sense because your leg is a part of YOU.

Likewise, when your child's behavior seems
unreasonable, you can overcome the temptation to
react negatively by responding to your child as if s/he
were a part of your body.

Like the parts of your body, your child functions well
when you pay attention to his or her signals and,
instead of resisting those signals, you do your best
to honor and respond to them. There's no blame; you
just deal with it.

Today, imagine you and your child are like one body
and notice how that perspective affects your
interactions."

http://dailygroove.net/one-body

Feel free to forward this message to your friends!
(Please include this paragraph and everything above.)
Copyright (c) 2007 by Scott Noelle

Thanks for the great post, Kim! It's something we should all remember when our patience is running short!

2 comments:

Sharon said...

I love the message.
I have much respect for parents who are ever-so-patient.
I DO wonder, though-do these moms REALLY never lose patience? Do they truly NEVER raise their voice?

Our parenting beliefs DO shape how we react and respond to out children. But does that take over or transform us so much that we become immune to raising our voices and losing patience?

It often seems like it. I just don't know.

Jennifer said...

Sharon: I have met people who SEEM like they never lose patience or raise their voic...women whose houses always seem clean, whose husbands seem happy, and whose whole lives seem sooo put together. I find it hard to believe that anyone doesn't have their "moment". Lord knows I do! (More often that I'd like!!) I liked this article beacuse it is a great perspective to have. I know it's something important to remember when you're raising children--to kind of remember they're little and they're reacting to situations in a little-person way. It's a goal, but no one is ever erfect in any field--Especially me. Motherhood is so complicated, isn't it? A few of us should get together and write a book from each of our different perspectives! I'll have my people call your people! :o)