Become an Expert

"When you love someone, become an expert of them" That is exactly what 'changing shoes' will allow you to do when raising kids. (Refer back to the earlier postings this week to clarify 'shoes'!) As a mom, if I put on a different pair of sneakers daily to represent my intentional interaction with each child, I would be assured that I was building a relationship with my child. I was on my way to become an expert of each child that I loved so dearly. So to end this week, I would like to challenge you to take the "Sneaker System Challenge" and set up a way to learn more about your child as he/she ages.
Get a small journal, or spiral notebook. Just a small one and have one for each child. Label it with your child's name and if possible put a picture of the sneaker that represents that child on the cover (the sneaker picture is extra credit, don't get discouraged trying to find the perfect representation!) As often as you can, record what you are learning about your child. Just small, quick entry journals that will be fun to pass on to your child someday, but more importantly be a reminder to you who your child is.
When my children were growing up, my daughter was the only one who HATED mustard. Not a dislike, but a true repulsion of that food. I would make sandwiches for the whole gang and mindlessly put mustard on all of the sandwiches. I wasn't seasoned enough as a mom to realize I should be noting these differences down and taking it to heart...but I am hoping to redeem myself by passing this option on to you. Once I caught on to the need to individualize my parenting, I began noticing how each child learned, what caused them to act out, what their love language was, etc.
It is a marathon you are in as a mom, so get those sneakers positioned on the starting line everyday and put them to the test of allowing you to become an expert of each of your children.