I heard a mom at the mall yesterday say "well, MY child is perfect". I began pondering about that statement last night (yes! Watch out! Another ponder!) I sat down, and honestly asked myself "do I think Kahlen perfect?" And a great battle in my mind ensued. Part of my brain said "Of course she is! She is your daughter and all mothers are supposed to think their kids are perfect!". Another part of my brain was saying "Perfect? My kid doesn't sleep through the night! Perfect? Thats a joke!". And yet another part of my brain went back to a phrase my mom said when I was a teen that stuck with me "Perfect is boring!". And after much pondering, after the battle field in my brain was cleared and the dust settled, I decided that "NO my kiddo is NOT perfect, and I love her that way!"
Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful baby. She is a riot, a hoot, and a constant source of joy and laughter in my life! She keeps me on my toes, teaches me, learns along side me, and makes me feel complete (no matter how cliche it is)! But perfect is boring. Perfect eliminates the possibility for growth and change. Perfect desroyes those moments of excited learning. perfect is static, unchanging, and as my mom worded it 'Boring!". So I'll take my kiddo, just as she is, with room for growth and learning and change.
After having this epiphanal (is this a word?) ponder, I decided to browse online looking for parenting resources that supported my new ideology that kids are NOT perfect and need challenges and oppertunities to change and grow. These are a few I found that piqued my Curiosity:
This particular article on the site was an interesting read. Im not sure I agree with all of it, but for arguments sake, its a good 'think inducing' read. Its kind of slow in the beginning, but it picks up relevance as you go.Its basically exploring the possibilities created when raising a critical thinker.
An interesting take on the elements of critical thinking: The "Three Eyes".
.... And just like that, my 'not so perfect' Kahlen wakes up just when I start to hit my searching stride.
Love it. Love her!
(P.S. I don't consider myself to be a skeptic, but I find I tend to lean more towards being a skeptic than being a faithful believer. I hate the idea of being classified, it seems limiting. I did include two skeptic websites though so I though I needed to make some sort of note to clarify ;)
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