What My Three Year Old Taught Me This Week
Hey, Practice families!
Happy August. I'm going to keep this message short-- I'm a few days behind with this newsletter already, because this week is my first week fully back in the office and it's busy! But I've been thinking about a recent interaction I had with my older son. He's three, which means that lots of my time is spent like this. Lots of sobbing, lots of tantrums.
The other day, though, my son surprised me. We were on the way to his swimming lesson, and he was eating goldfish crackers in the back seat. He decided that he was done, and (like always) insisted on passing them to me rather than endure the torture of having to hold a bag containing crackers he no longer wanted to eat. Since I was also busy driving the car, I missed the pass. The bag fell, crackers scattered everywhere. I was immediately annoyed. Why couldn't you just HOLD THE BAG FOR THREE MORE MINUTES?! GAHHHH, CRACKERS ALL OVER MY CLEAN CAR.
But (luckily) before I said any of this out loud, I heard a little voice from the back seat. "Dat okay, mom! We clean it up later!"
He was right. We could clean it up later. It was only Goldfish. It was okay.
That's exactly what I want to teach him-- that when he breaks his crayon, when we turn off the Paw Patrol, when we expect him to eat broccoli, when he temporarily can't find a specific toy or treasure, when he gets older and runs into bigger disappointments, makes bigger mistakes-- that it's ultimately okay. That we have the power to choose to roll with even the things that are frustrating, upsetting, or don't turn out the way we'd hoped-- to choose the size of our reaction, the amount of energy or room we let these things occupy in our minds and lives. When we can put those ideas into practice, we're better role models for our kids... AND our own lives are more peaceful.
There have of course been a million other times this week (uh, even during this one DAY) at which my kid has escalated into hysteria over something completely minor. After all, he's three, and this is what three year-olds do. But I'm trying to remind myself that no matter what happens, hey, DAT OKAY.
Hope that this reminder is also helpful for you. Wishing all of you a wonderful week.our spot now! More sessions for kids of different ages and their parents TBS.
And don't forget, teaching kids about the power of their breath is ALSO part of what we do in our Mighty Minds program (plus so much more!)! We have only three weeks remaining in our 2019 summer sessions-- with limited spots still available.
July 29 - August 2
1:30-3pm, rising 1st to 3rd graders
August 5 - August 9
3:30-5pm, rising 6th to 8th grade girls
August 12 - August 16
1:30-3pm, rising 3rd to 5th grade boys
3:30-5pm, rising 4th/5th grade girls
More information about the Mighty Minds program and summer sign-ups can be found here; if your child has participated in the past and you are interested in enrolling in our NEW one-session alumni program, please email us at info@practicesanfrancisco.com!). Please note that we also offer our Mighty Minds program as an after-school program during the school year, and will be releasing our 2019-2020 calendar soon!
P.S., If you're in a similar boat with a threenager or toddler and looking for great resources on how to navigate all the emotional drama, check out this book and this book!
And if you're a parent of any aged kid and looking for some support in keeping your cool, check out our 30 day online series for parents, How to Not Lose Your Sh*t With Your Kid(s)!
Finally, we're about to release dates for our 2019-20 after school Mighty Minds program, and we'll open registration first for families already on our waitlist! Learn more about the program and add your child to the list via our website.
