The kids came home from a stay at the fitness center child care room with a chick to cut out and attach an egg with paper fasteners. They worked on it diligently, and the next thing I knew, Zhong-Lin was attaching a string and calling it a "kipe." I don't know where it came from, but he was convinced he was gonna fly this chick. He found a shoestring on the floor and was out the door. The other kids were running around looking for suitable string while I was thinking, "Are you crazy? it's not a kite."
Thankfully, I didn't say it out loud because they were happy and active and running in and out, not hurting anything. They even came in and added wings because there wasn't enough wind.
After half an hour of watching this, I was reminded of a favorite parenting book,
What Do You Really Want for your Kids? by Wayne Dyer. He writes of all the things we want for our kids...for them to be risk-takers, to value themselves, to be creative, etc and how mostly, it's
us that holds them back. We are the ones who tell them it can't be done, or it's silly, or a waste of time. What I love about the book is how he goes through our adult behaviors that counter the very thing that we want for our kids...and then talks about how we change ourselves. So, reminder to self: let children believe and try and explore...don't be the voice that stops their belief in their abilities.
