A beautiful piece of writing that I just came across in a book that I wanted to share with you all.
Recipe for a happy child by Marina Cowdray
Ingredients:
Love and more love.
Give your child a torch to hold, to lighten up the path of the walk called life.
Love and hug your child and feel in your heart a connection with your child’s heart. Unconditional love will flourish.
Be the change you want to see in your child. Don’t turn the child into you.
Trust your intuition: feelings are more powerful than responding to your mind.
There is no such thing as routine in nature. Nature expresses itself in every given moment, let the child be a natural expression of themselves.
Take responsibility wholeheartedly for yourself, and spend time in silence. Giving yourself peace of mind that in turn gives your child peace of mind.
See yourself as the child, and remember you were the child once. Play with the child and don’t take on the burdens of the world. Your child is your world.
Resistance develops from being controlled. Parents are their own conditioning: your child will repeat patterns until you understand your true nature.
When you make a mistake, be able to look your child in the eye and say sorry, please forgive me.
Drop putting yourself in the parenting role, be patient and listen fully; there is no past, there is no future, there is only this moment.
Your child is not an expression of you, they are an expression of themselves.
Transparency breeds transparency, open conversations lead to open conversations. Indoctrination of any kind is a limitation, allow your child to find their own way.
Substances fill a void; when there is no void, no substances are required. Any of your own addictions will be adopted by your child, so think carefully whether you want them to repeat your patterns.
If your child upsets you, recognise your own shortcomings. Love the differences between you and your child. Look at every challenge as a blessing.
Respect and trust in your child breeds success and trust in the world.
Encouragement breeds confidence.
Drop the false belief that fitting in and being top of the class and winning a game are the priorities; this moment is the priority and let that be good enough.
Home is a place of refuge; let the child have the space they need to be quiet.
Make homework fun, otherwise don’t do it.
Have deep gratitude for your child and forgive them as they are trapped in your own conditioning.
Being the perfect parent is being who you truly are. Your child is your teacher, be open to learn from your child.
Your child will bring you more joy and love than you ever imagined.
