How many of us have the courage to face our fears? Its so much easier to run away and hide from them, than it is to face them. If we can point the finger or blame someone else for a situation, then we keep ourselves in that fear mentality. We are choosing to not take responsibility in the moment. How are we modeling that for our kids? Do your kids see you talking about your fears and facing them?`
I want to share a recent story from my 7 year old son. We went to his brothers hockey tournament and of course he wanted to stop at the snack bar and get a bag of chips for the game. I gave him a couple of dollars and suggested that if he really wanted the snack that he could go to the counter and order himself. He looked at me and said, “no you do it”. I looked back at him and said, “mommy is right here. If you really want the chips you will go and pay for it yourself.” He proceeded to refuse. I then told him I was NOT going to buy it for him. As you can imagine he was not a happy little camper. He was very upset with me and didn’t want to speak to me. He was pouting.
The afternoon passed and a few hours later there was a second hockey game. Andy said mommy “can I have money for a snack? I’ll do it this time.” I was surprised. I watched and waited as he went to the snack bar all by himself. He then came back and said “‘Mommy, I did it I faced my fear!”.
I was so proud of my little guy. He must obviously hear me talk about facing our fears all the time for him to be so confident and proud in saying what he did. This was a great example for me in standing my ground and not giving in just to please a kid. He experience what it was like to pout and not get his way. He learned it didn’t work. Then next time he learned how to step up and take responsibility for his actions.
Happy Kid. Happy Mom!