Psalm 62:2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Parenting delimas
Justin and I experience our first real parenting delima of deciding between what our two year old daughter wanted and what we, as parents, thought was best for her. Last week we took Morganne to an evening vacation bible school that had a two year old class. Her best friend Curtis was going and we thought it would be a good experience for her socially as well as our thought that learning about Jesus is never a bad thing, right? We took her in on Monday and being the timid child that she is, she was very excited to see Curtis and walked into their classroom holding his hand and seemed very interested in what was going on. So, Brittany and I left. I will admit it was very difficult leaving my two year old somewhere when I didn't know the adults involved at all. It wasn't our church, but Brit and Bryant go there, Curtis was in her class and as it turned out so was another of her daycare friends. So, I felt it was ok and a fairly good/safe situation. Justin ended up picking her up that night and she returned home happy and telling us all about what she had done. It wasn't until Tuesday night that we discovered her anxiety. We pulled into the parking lot and she began crying saying she didn't want to go to bible school. Thinking it was just some cold feet we waited for Curtis and they once again walked in together but once we got to their classroom she litterally began trying to climb me saying that she didn't want to stay. So here's the delima- do you force your two year old to stay, knowing that most likely once distracted she will have a good time, or do you not traumatize your child by not making them stay when they obviously don't want too!?!?!? I asked her teachers how she was the night before and they said "well....once we got her distracted she was better". Hearing the hesitancy and sugar coating in their voice, I knew Morganne most likely cried off and on most of the night before. So, our decision: I ended up staying with her for the evening and joined in on the class. She was perfectly fine as long as I was there and she could check in with me every once in a while. I was glad I stayed. I can remember from my childhood that I was a very timid, uncourageous child and could not stay over night anywhere, even with closest friends, until I was in middle school. I remember how those attempts felt too, when my parents would then be called in the middle of the night to come get me. So, how can I expect my child to do more, especially at 2. We did not send her back the rest of the week. We are hoping with another year under her belt, next year she will enjoy it much better. I can only hope and pray that I make good "because I know what's best for you" parenting decisions in the many years to come.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Holly you did great! I have no idea what I would have done and you staying was perfect. If she is that uncomfortable then you don't want to force her or next time/year she will remember that feeling. It is hard enough for us as adults to join a new group, let alone a 2 year old. I think u staying with her showed her that its ok to be unsure, but you assured her it was a safe situation by staying. She didn't know she missed any more days. I thought you guys did great!
ReplyDeleteThat sounded like the best decision. LCC is very big and I think it can be intimidating for kids!
ReplyDelete