The other day I was talking to my two and a half year old and she was telling me all the things she wanted. She wanted the red truck (big brother was playing with) and the green truck (other brother was playing with) and the paw patrol truck (big sister was playing with). She was so anxious to get done with what we were doing and go to the play room and get THOSE toys!
I realized there were a couple ways I could deal with it: I could wait for her to go snatch the toys and correct her then, I could scold her for wanting what others have, or turn it into a positive moment.
I decided on the positive note and wracked my brain to figure out how… (this isn’t exactly verbatim but as good as I can remember right now)
“Those are nice toys aren’t they?” I asked
“Yes! I do like them!”
“It’s nice to have things we like to play with, and people to play with. I guess when it’s your turn you can play with them! It’s their turn now, and when they are done you can have a turn!”
“Yes! When I go in there it’s my turn!”
“No, it’s their turn until they are done, and then it’s your turn until you are done, that’s sharing, you can share right?”
“Yes, I can share, you teached me that!”
Her last statement will stay with me forever, because in the moment I wasn’t TRYING to teach, I wasn’t TRYING to make it a lesson, I wasn’t TRYING to get her to recall the definition of sharing or any lessons she’s had on the subject; in that moment I was just talking with my daughter.
It reminded me of the scripture in Deuteronomy which says:
And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
The part that struck me the most is that we are teaching our children every day whether we are TRYING to or not, and I was grateful when she noted my teaching it was a positive moment. I’m thankful for the Spirit of God that led me in making the moment teachable, even when my mind was just wanting to avoid correcting later. I’m grateful that God taught her through me.
We should be mindful of our children learning and growing alongside us. Not mindful in a ‘you should always be thinking about teaching your child all the time unless you are sleeping’ kind of way, more mindful in that it is a characteristic of your interactions with them just as it is that you love them and comfort them. I believe if you let ‘teacher’ truly become a part of who you are to your children then moments like this will not be missed, because you won’t have to ‘try’.
I haven’t always been in this place or had these opportunities, but being here now I pray that all mothers can hear those words with joy: “you teached me that!”
Helping Meet 