Recently, I noticed that I had been very harsh with my son. I was stuck in a cycle of nagging, redirecting, and punishing him.
Why can’t you be still?
Why can’t you be quiet for just 10 minutes?
He was too loud and too distracted.
He was rolling around and bouncing off the walls.
He was messing up my schedule and my house.
We were running late, and we had a full day of plans and appointments.
I lost it and yelled in a tone that shocked me and scared him.
I wondered what my little boy thought.
I wondered if he still knew that I love him.
I wondered if he still believed that I like him.
I looked at his wiggly body, and in a rare moment of clarity, I realized neither of us were happy. I realized that my jam-packed day was of my own making, none of the practices or lessons or meetings on our schedule HAD to be there.
This moment made me slow down and consider that God designed this child to be a wild and silly little boy. He was created to run and jump and to be rambunctious- but I was subconsciously trying to cut that part out.
This is the only season of life that he is allowed to be a kid, and I am taking it away. Maybe the problem isn’t my hyper child, maybe it’s his mom who is expecting him to act like an adult.
Sure, he needs guidance and direction, but my goal shouldn’t be to rush him into maturity.
Schedules, sports practices, sitting still, and endless waiting- It’s too much. Life has become too regimented.
The magic of free play and digging in the dirt is replaced by structure and routine.
