Sometimes I feel as if I’m correcting my daughter a bit too much. She’s only 9, but she’s tall and very mature for her age. So, when she actually acts like a 9 year old, it throws me a bit.
But, I have to stop and correct myself. She’s had quite a few changes happen over the last year and struggled a bit. However, I see positive results coming from that struggle. And, I have to admit, she actually handled all of the changes in the past year a lot better than I have.
I have to remember to take a step back and look at what is going on in her day when she starts to have a meltdown. I tend to think of it as “it’s just school”, but it’s not. It’s learning, social interactions, work, and creativity. It can be an awesome day or a lousy one. Pretty much like my days at work.
If you find yourself correcting just a bit too much, take a look at what is going on. It could be that your child is trying to let off a little steam at the end of a hard day. Don’t we all need to do this sometimes?
I’m trying to actively ask her about her day when I first pick her up. Not the generic “how was your day?” but more of “did you have a good day today” or “anything happen that you’d like to talk about?”. Sometimes, the news is bad and we discuss it, often including prayer seeking guidance. When the news is great, we celebrate it and praise God.
But, when she’s had a rough day and just throws a tantrum or worse, sulks in her room, I try to remind myself that she is only 9. She’s at the age where she’s in between being my little girl and changing to an adolescent. Through prayer and understanding, we get through it. The tantrum ends and we discuss it. Then, we pray and push forward.
What I have been noticing is that, since we’ve started incorporating more prayer into our lives, her responses to things at school have changed. Not everything is the dramatic “end of the world” that it was in the beginning of the school year. Also, she’s coming home and asking me to pray for other people. Such a blessing!
We have to remember that kids can have it rough too. While we may think that school is just studying and being with friends, that simply is not the case. And when our little darlings turn into little terrors, sometimes it’s best to just ride it through with them and pray together when the rides over.