Sesame turns three exactly one week from today, so I thought I’d put a little spin on the lessons we teach our children and focus on the lessons he’s taught me.
1. It’s Okay To Need People
Now that Sesame can articulate his feelings more he has no problem telling us when he needs us. The other night when he woke up in the middle of the night and was scared of the dark, I asked him what I could do to make it better and he said very matter of factly “I need you.” You can listen to more about that exchange in this week’s vlog. Even though he’s told me many times that he needs me for something it really clicked for me in that moment. Here’s this little person who is completely unashamed of being afraid of the dark and needing his mommy, but as an adult I have a hard time telling people that I need their help or just need to be in their presence.
Brought this guy to campus with me today and he was so excited. Now I just need to let him sit in on one of my classes, so he can see mommy teach. #mamademic #phdlife #tinynerd
2. Show Yourself Love Every Day
A few months ago, Sesame heard this song “I Love Myself” by Kendrick Lamar and every since he’ll randomly start walking around singing “I love self… I love self.” Sometimes he looks at himself in the mirror and sings the song. I’ve even caught him kissing himself in the mirror. It’s hilarious and adorable all at the same time. Well last week I shared this story on my personal FB page:
Sesame: I like your hair.
Me: I don’t like my hair it’s a mess.
Sesame: Your hair not a mess. Your hair is pretty.First, I can’t handle the fact that he’s saying complete sentences and using your properly. Second, he’s great for my self-confidence.
P.S. My hair really is a mess today like I wouldn’t go anywhere with it like this at all.
Several people left me comments that I need to be careful about speaking negatively about myself and my body to my son and accept his compliments. Like most people I am very critical of my personal appearance and myself in general, so it’s hard to just simply accept a compliment. I also realized that I need to work more on loving “self,” so I will be starting a 30 Day Self Love Challenge. I want him to keep this positive self-esteem and I need to model that for him as well.
I think it’s safe to say we missed each other…
3. Keep Trying, You’ll Get Better
So, technically this lesson came from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, but Sesame has really taken this phrase to heart. Sometimes when he’s working on a puzzle or trying to take off his rain boots, I’ll hear him mutter “keep tryin, you get betta.” Now that he’s going through an independent stage I find myself reminding him of those words when he’s frustrated. I can’t remember what I was trying to do recently that frustrated me, but he started singing the song to me and even though I chuckled I took it to heart. I’ve been very discouraged about writing my dissertation prospectus and feeling like giving up, but I know that I need to keep trying.
Have your little ones taught you any valuable lessons recently? Let’s talk about them in the comments.
