Our children are calling us, August 13 Daily Reflection

Spencer calling out

Dirty hands cupped so his voice will be heard more clearly Spencer calls to the children playing at a distance. Our children are constantly trying to get our attention, pulling on our shirt sleeve, tugging on our pants; the constant buzz of “mom, mom, mom, and mom” at times becomes an endless drone. 

Children require constant attention. As parents we try to raise them to not interrupt conversations to not tug constantly when we are on the phone, to be polite and wait their turn to talk. Our children just want us to look at them “look at me mom I can do ….” They want us to be present in their lives not just physically but emotionally and mentally.

As a mom it is difficult to handle it all. Work, home, bills, groceries, chores, practices, school, homework, raising children, relationships and on top of that our children are begging for our attention. They stand dirty cupping their hands together and sometimes in order to get our attention they have to yell out for it. Many, when little, realize when they throw a fit we have to deal with it and they have our attention.  We as moms are not neglecting our children but trying to do too many things at one time. We cannot do it all at once therein lies the conflict. However, if our children are calling for us kindly it would benefit us both to stop momentarily and listen. When a child has been heard and seen they are happy and go back to playing. If we let it escalate and the begging for attention continues the result is worse than just stopping temporarily what we are doing and giving them what they need at that moment in time, our attention.

The next time your child comes to you and tugs on you and says “Look mommy”, just take the time to go look, most of the time it only takes a few minutes and it satisfies your child’s need for attention and then they do not resort to more negative ways to find it. We love our children and want to give them attention, even when it is inconvenient try to give them a few minutes. The majority of the time our children’s feelings and our relationship with them is more important than what we have to “do” at that moment in time. As moms today let’s stop, look and listen to our children.

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