Get Involved, NOW!

During one of our meet ups with my New Mums Club, we played various games. In one of the games we were in two teams. All the games were created by a mum in our group. One of the questions required us to fill in the blank:

"the Itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water _________?"

The range of answers were hilarious to say the least, we all laughed our hearts out. We all knew this song, it is probably on every nursery rhyme collection. But for some reason the answer 'Spout' was not forth coming. Eventually one team got it right.

After all the fun and laughter, our host, who had created the games drew a very important message. Do you know the things your child is taking in? They may just be babies but they are learning everyday. We as mummies need to get involved with their learning. Don't just listen passively, sing and play along. Get INVOLVED with your baby.  She goes on a lot about this and she has gladly agreed to share how she got more conscious about being more involved in everything she exposes her baby to. If we as mummies (and daddies) are their number one teachers then we need to connect with them and not stay stuck in another generation or culture.

Her name is Isy Mba, she is mummy to Gabriel Junior and this is what she has to say. Enjoy the read!

Isy and Gabriel Jnr.

THE ECHOES OF CONSTRUCTION

Hello Mums,

I thought I’ll share a short story with you and some lessons my heavenly father has been teaching me as I daily mother my precious little boy.

Some time ago, as I fed my lovely precious baby, I reached out to turn down the volume of the TV so he wouldn't be distracted by one of his favourite songs which was coming up shortly. Before I turned down the volume, I noticed that my son had gone quiet and still in my arms, his eyes wide open... as if he was trying to pay attention to something else and didn’t want to miss out anything. Suddenly, the sounds from the TV didn’t seem to exist. Even though I was yet to turn the volume down.

A banging noise? No it wasn't.  It was the distant echoes from a construction site about half a mile away from our house which sounded so faint to my hearing but alas, my son heard it and his expressions seemed to scream… "Mum, did you hear that?" 

My precious boy heard the noise because it was different and distinct. On a different day altogether, I was pondering upon a couple of bible passages which have become some of my favourite passages. One of such scriptures is John 10:27-29, which says 

“...My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my father’s hand.” 

Although this verses talk about Jesus Christ and His children, it is very relevant and applicable to all parents, parenting in the 21^st century! This is because there are so many things (sounds and voices) out in our world that are ready and programmed to distract our precious children, such that if we don’t constantly turn up the volume to the messages we want our children to hear, they would be drowned by the noisy distractions the society and indeed world have to offer. I must point out that these voices are not all bad, but they may not necessarily be ideal for their age, or may be so addictive, that if we allow our children a little time to engage these other voices, we stand the risk of losing the time and opportunity to sow the right seeds into their tender hearts at the right time. 

Another scripture is Proverbs 22:6 which says to 

“train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” 

Now this scripture buttresses the point above that the timing of our training is relevant. In parenting, we need to spend quality time with our children, most especially when they are children. I know that sounds funny but the watch word there is quality. We can define quality in many ways and indeed it is somewhat defined by the individual but we must not neglect the fact that we are to provide them quality training.

Ever pondered on what you are training your child on? And how you are going about it? If you haven’t, I think now is a good time to give it a thought. A while ago, I got caught up in leaving my precious baby to watch a loop of cartoons, while I ran around within the house doing chores, cleaning, etc. But I have learnt that being a good trainer means, time, patience, etc. and even beyond that, my trainer status requires me to know what my child knows and what song or cartoon gets him giddy. This will help me in knowing what he shouldn’t be watching or how to use such knowledge in training him better.

If we can just get to know what pieces of information that our children are grappling with; what knowledge they are trying to assimilate into their thinking, we would be more effective in honing our energies towards either reinforcing them or eliminating them if they are erroneous and not beneficial to their destinies. It is possible that many of us got so engrossed in birthing our children that we have perhaps not been readied for training them when they arrive; the truth is after birth is actual parenting. Pregnancy is not parenting but an introduction to the need to prepare for parenting; just as nobody can birth them for us, nobody will effectively train them for us – it is our assignment and responsibility to train them.

Regardless of how ready or not we are to be a trainer, now is a good time to start. Now is a good time to start getting involved in their playing and learning times. Like I have learnt from one of my mentors Jim Rohn, you cannot change your destination overnight but you can change your direction overnight. So we all need to start assuring our children that mummy and daddy are aware of their external and internal worlds. All these commitments will help foster a loving relationship with your child with great dividends in the future. Investing in these constructive relationships now will turn out for them into lovely memories when they are older. 

This is what the bible means by “when he is old, he will not depart from it!”. Even when they are grown and independent, they will still be able to be still and hear your voice like the echoes of the construction site nearby amidst the noises of life. However, what they hear in the echoes is important and now is the time to start constructing.

Enjoy parenting.

Love Always.

Mrs M