Encourage and They Will Excel
I don’t push my children. I encourage them.
My husband and I give them opportunities to learn, create and excel and they, in turn, do just that in their own time. Nothing irks me more than ballpark parents screaming at their children from the sidelines.
Our son wanted to become a volunteer member of the firefighter team and Parkour free-runner and our daughter loves ballet, theatre, music and tennis. Those are their choices and we support them and are proud of them.
 Check out that swing at 3-years-old!
Our daughter’s principal just read the Kindergarten parents a children’s book at the Parents’ Orientation called Ruby in Her Own Time by Jonathan Emmett. It’s about a little duckling whose egg hatched later than her siblings’, she swam when she wanted to, quacked when she wanted to, left home when she wanted to and came back on her own time (the college reference, says the principal).
The principal wanted to point out to the parents that some Kindergartners are learning their alphabet while others already read but all the children will eventually read. In their own time.
Some kids walk earlier, some later. The point is – they walk.
I believe in that philosophy. With great love and encouragement, I hug and kiss my kids and tell them how proud I am. Ultimately, in the end, they will find what they love to do and I will be there to help them pursue it.
This leads me to this fantastic video (link below) I saw earlier this evening on YouTube with my husband, Phillip. If more parents looked at who their children are rather than what they want them to be, the world might be a happier, more content place.
This video is so beautiful and so inspirational, I hope you take the few minutes to enjoy it and then share it with your friends. It’s about a “bird-chasing” dog who was trained to do one thing since birth but ended up doing something else.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=BGODurRfVv4Â
The Bright Spot 
 – if your “dream-chasing” child wants to pursue something, encourage them, help them, give them the opportunities to reach those dreams. And tell those screaming ballpark parents to get a grip; childhood is so short, let your children revel in it. Chase the birds…and your dreams, too!
Â
