Different Does Not Mean Worse!

FROM BECKY: Have you ever seen your child doing something with you that he or she doesnt do with ANYONE else? Maybe only in your session do they constantly try to get out of the playroom? Perhaps they want you to only sing Row Your Boat and with anyone else they will play all kinds of different games? Does your child only want to talk about ice-cream with you? or have you pretend to be a baby for a whole hour? Perhaps you are a volunteer, with you, they put you in a corner and tell you to be quiet?

Often I hear from families and volunteers in Son-Rise Programs, "He/she only ever does it wth me!" If you see yourself having a different type of session than everyone elses, consider yourself lucky! Different is just different, it doesn't mean it's bad, or worse, it's simply different.

Perhaps your child wants to create predictability and gain control and feels like you are a safe bet to do that with. Maybe no-one else in the world can top your baby impression! Could it be that they are getting something out of the reaction you give them?

When we judge that our sessions are not as productive, fun or as successful as someone else's then we are not accepting ourselves and our child as doing the best we can. As a result of that we could be reacting to what they are doing and pushing to change it. That will be an interesting experience for your child and they may push that boundary extra hard.

Feel good about your different session and embrace it as not worse, just different. Often we can see our children be more flexible and change themselves when we embrace such things.

I would love to hear what your child does with you and you only!