The Imitation Game
I remember when Issy was just a wee tot blissfully spending hours with her on my knee pointing at my body parts and naming them for her – I’d put my hand on my nose and say “nose” (in that annoying baby voice that people without children hate) and being amazed when she thrust her pudgy little hand towards my face and said “nooooose!” “nooose!”
At that age we “get” that our kids learn a lot by imitating what they see, which is generally why second borns tend to develop quicker than first borns (unless their older sibling is anything like Isabelle who didn’t let Elias get a word in edgeways and ran to get anything he so much looked in the direction of). Believe you me – that wouldn’t happen these days, I’m lucky if she will even look in his direction when he tries to talk to her!
As they get older it can be easy for a parent to forget that their kids are still watching, after all they rarely imitate us as directly as they used to back in the “this is my nose” stage of development. I tend to get reminders that I have eyes watching my every move when I least expect it.
For instance when I arrived home on my birthday the kids were both still feverishly working on my birthday cards as they had spent most of the day at the hospital waiting for their Poppa’s surgeon to give him the ok to come home. I was sent downstairs to wait until they were ready to bestow me with their master pieces.
When I opened up Issy’s card it was a drawing of the entire family, the boys were climbing a tree, Isabelle was hula hooping and I was doing a handstand. Elias on the other hand drawn himself and his Dad chopping wood while I complete with “my signature” ballerina bun was moving the wood – in short they had drawn what they see us doing and when I look back over all of their art I came to the realisation that they always draw their Mum and Dad being active.
Which in turn reminded me of one afternoon just before the school holidays when I went to pick up the kids from school I was sitting in the winter sun while they burned off some energy in the playground, although its usually FREEZING I don’t mind too much as it lets the car park clear out and the kids don’t have to listen to their Mum frustratedly exclaiming that considering this is a “christian school” these parents aren’t showing many christian virtues.
Anyway I digress … the car park situation does that to me. 😉
I was sitting in the winter sun and Elias was talking to a little boy who was trying to reach the bar above his head. Elias scanned the crowd and asked him, “Which one is your Mum? Call her to lift you up so you can reach it” to which the little boy replied “My Mum can’t lift me up, only my Dad can”. Elias then matter of factly said “Tell her to go to the gym, that’s how you get muscles, muscles make you strong, that’s why my Mum is strong like my Dad”. *note he didn’t say as strong as Dad* lololololol
Let us not forget – Our children will become who we are, so be who you want them to be.
Till next time
