It’s exciting getting your child engaged in new surroundings. I get a kick out of watching my daughter’s sheer amazement at every little thing no matter how mundane they may seem to be.
Some days, I fight the urge to get annoyed, pushing back against the boring, jaded adult in me who is complaining, “Gosh, what’s the big deal?,” when Ariabella, my 20 month old, gets fixated on something that I feel is not worth fixating over.
For example, my daughter doesn’t care for expensive toys and doesn’t care what we dress her in, either. Dressing her cute is more for me than for her. And getting her the coolest gadgets and toys is simply my way of making myself feel good, convincing myself that by spoiling her—and spending money—that I’m being a great parent. But most kids, I find, would rather play with the box the toy came in. You know? My toddler does, anyway.
Praise What’s Exciting To Your Child
Among my daughter’s favorite fixations are rocks. Yes, ROCKS! The hubby and I have no idea why rocks are so exciting for our daughter. Let’s be clear, she doesn’t just like them…I’ll repeat, she ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥’s them.
So, my hubby and I encourage her and say, “Oh wow, another rock! So cool!” We even opine out loud in front of her that maybe she’ll be a geologist one day. There’s nothing like positive reinforcement.
Ariabella laughs and gets so happy, grabbing as many rocks as she can hold in her little hands. We now have a rock collection in our home. Ha ha ha.
The point is, you don’t need a lot of material things to make your child happy.
The only thing they want more than anything is your undivided attention, and that can be hard to give some days. My daughter will grab my hand and pull me away if my nose is glued to my phone. So, I’m guilty of tuning her out at times.
Children Find Being With Us Exciting
We can all be busy checking e-mails or sharing our lives via social media. None of us can be perfect parents 100% or even 50% of the time. After all, we are only human. I’m learning through trial and error that it’s so simple to make every day exciting for our child. Foster their creativity, don’t be afraid to allow them to explore their independence and praise every exciting thing that they find amazing.
After all, they will only be a kid once.
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