Happy Mother's Day

As a mother to two sons and a grandmother to three precious little girls, I've learned some things.

I've learned that the greatest impact on a child's life happens in the first five years.

This is tough because as a new mother, or even a seasoned one, the first five years of a child's life are hectic.  You're busy taking care of them and they're busy discovering and exploring the world around them.  But it is in the first five years that lifelong lessons are learned.  In those first five years, kids learn how to behave, how to treat others, how to take care of themselves, and how to think for themselves, to name a few.  And the tricky part is, as a parent you have no idea if what you're doing is right or good for that child until much later.  In these first five years, you're operating on a hope and a prayer.

I've learned you don't do your child any favors by always coming to their rescue.

When a child blows it, they need to understand that they need to figure out what to do to solve their issue.  I'm not suggesting that we let them suffer, but I am saying that they need to understand that the world will not bail them out.  When they screw up, they need to fess up, correct the problem, make amends and move on.  Too often parents become a lifelong crutch.  In their desire to help, they become a hindrance.

I've learned that kids have to be taught how to work; how to complete a task and do a good job.

If kids are allowed to get away with doing half-ass work, they will grow up thinking that's good enough in school, at work, and in relationships.  Kids have to be explicitly taught how to do a job and do it well.  That begins with picking up their toys and cleaning their rooms.  Simple things that have a lifelong impact.

I've learned that once your kids are grown, you have to step aside and let them live their lives.

And to me . . .

That's the hardest lesson of all.