As a parent, a lot is expected of you. The weight of parenthood is hard to carry. As soon as you bring your child into this world, you’re flooded with advice and opinions, some welcomed and some not. There are countless ways to raise a child this day and age. You either breastfeed or formula feed. Purees or Baby Lead Weaning. Co-sleeping or sleeping in their crib. Screen time or no screen time. How to get your child to read before they start kindergarten. There are numerous options outnumbered by even more opinions on which is best.
When I first became a mom, I was overwhelmed with all those options and opinions. I would spend a lot of my time researching and finding out what was “best.” I would beat myself up if my son was doing something differently than children his age. I would wonder what I was doing wrong. That was, until I came across a very enlightening post on Facebook, of all places. Now, before you roll your eyes and wonder how something as simple as a Facebook post could change the trajectory of my entire parenting attitude, just hear me out. The post read:
“Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest,
most beautiful and magical humans on earth,
for what they believe is what they will become.”
– Brooke Hampton
For some reason, after reading that quote, something just clicked for me. I suddenly realized it didn’t matter when my son learned to walk, talk, read etc. It mattered what I said to him. If I tell him he is smart, he will believe he is smart and will be confident in his ability to learn new things. If I tell him he is kind, he will believe he is kind and will reach out to people who need kindness. If I tell him he is loved, he will believe he is loved, and he will feel secure in his family. If I tell him he is helpful, he will continue to help me, and he will learn how to help others. If I tell him I am proud of him, he will learn to feel pride in himself no matter what he accomplishes. If I tell him he can do anything he sets his mind to, he will believe that he can. If I speak life and love into him, life and love will spill out of him and into the lives of others. My words can give my son a foundation in which he builds himself on. I need to make sure my words pave a strong foundation. I can lay a foundation full of love, faith, hope, and belief in him. I can give him words of affirmation every day to help shape the way he views himself, treats himself, and treats others. Do I succeed at this every day? No way. But it’s something I am working hard on because I’ve seen what can happen when you speak life into the ones you love every day. They turn into someone they’re proud of. They take chances on themselves with a confidence they didn’t have before. They turn into someone they’re happy to be. They turn into someone who speaks life into others. Speak life into your children. Speak life into your spouses. Speak life into your friends. Speak life into strangers. Speak life into yourself.
