There are so many successful ways to parent. Personally, I don’t feel one is better than another. You just need to find out what works for your family and go for it. One of the biggest decisions my husband and I have made is to involve our son in nearly everything we do. We want him to experience life with us and decide for himself what he finds fun and fascinating, and what bores him to tears.
A conversation was never had about this, it just sort of happened. I’m sure part of it had to do with the fact that we knew he was the only child we were having together. Having an 18-year old, I know how much time flies and I didn’t want to miss a minute of our son’s life. Only a handful of people have watched him and I can count on two hands how many nights he’s spent away from us. We’ve gotten a lot of comments about being “helicopter parents”, but even more comments saying how wonderful it is to see our son so involved in our lives. We take the latter as a compliment as, honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Living in California there’s a 95% chance that the weather is going to cooperate in whatever outdoor activity you’re doing. Kayaking is a huge part of our lives and we’ve been fortunate enough to have friends rig our kayaks to accommodate our son. 4-year olds are incredibly active and usually never stop talking, but seat them in a boat on the water and it’s pretty magical watching the transformation. There is so much to see and his imagination goes wild. He invents stories about what’s happening beneath the water, who’s living in the trees, and what they’re eating. We make up songs about nature and when fish are caught he wants to examine them from tip to tail.
When we travel, we would rather our son see the things we are seeing than come home and show him pictures. There are so many times that he’s the only child at an event, but he loves making friends of all ages and learning about anything and everything he can. My husband and I come from small families, but our son would never know it. The friends he meets along the way turn into unofficial aunts and uncles. There’s no greater feeling than leaving a group of friends and they are the saddest to see our son go because his perspective on life is so enthusiastic and it’s definitely contagious.
Our family photo albums are already filled with adventures. I don’t want our son to be anxious or scared of things he’s unsure of so I try to expose him to it all. He’s become an excellent judge of his limits and his fears. We don’t push him to the point of being afraid, we simply encourage him to try and let him do the rest. I know this isn’t for everyone and, believe me, it takes a mountain of patience, but life is short. Our children spend 13 years in school before they’re off to more school, so I’m going to soak up every second I can while we have all the time in the world.
What are your favorite activities to do as a family? How do you keep your kids involved in your lives?
