Kiddipedia
When everything is uncertain. Everything that is important becomes clear.
The last 2 years have been unprecedented.
There has been devastation on a global scale. Loss of lives. Loss of jobs. Loss of businesses. The world and people’s lives have been thrown into chaos, and people have been living in fear.
Through all of this, there has been more opportunity presented to us than ever before. For my family, we were afforded with the luxury of time, we were forced to slow down and for me personally it became quickly apparent that the most important thing in my life is my family.
In the book ‘Hold Onto Your Kids’ Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate discuss that over the last 50 years parents have lost the natural connection and attachment to their children and instead the children are seeking this in their peer relationships. “This has shown to undermine family cohesion, interferes with healthy development and fosters a hostile and sexualized youth culture. Children end up becoming conformist, anxious and alienated.”
I couldn’t help but wonder that the goal shouldn’t be to get back to normal here but use this opportunity to restore the natural balance between parents and children.
For far too long parents have been undervalued, underappreciated, and forgotten. Well, meaning advice from experts and loved ones has left parents discouraged, lacking in confidence and unable to trust their instincts and what their children need.
As parents we have outsourced parenting to schoolteachers, music teachers, sports coaches, television, social media, and computer games all in the name of trying to be a good parent and wanting the best for our children.
As a father of 2 kids, I am not here casting judgement, I am speaking to myself. I have been an angry dad, an emotionless dad, a distracted dad, a distant dad. I am far from the perfect dad, but I am a real father. What if all our kids really needed was us as parents to show up? Our presence. Our connection. Our love and compassion.
Many parents that were presented with this opportunity showed up. Parents turned homeschoolers overnight. Parents spending more time outdoors, in parks, riding bikes, walking, and swimming. Parents practicing with their kids and playing sports, exercising in their homes. Parents and children being active, moving, playing. Parents being present with their children and connecting.
In a world that is rushing to get back to normal I genuinely hope we have considered which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.
