Mindful Monday Word-Nurture
We all have a nurturing nature. Have you ever had a house plant? You water it, give it sunlight, and, some may even name their plants and talk to them! That is nurturing! How about a pet? We do the same thing, take them for a walk, we feed them, play with them, clean up after them and love them. The question is, “how do we nurture our child?” Our children require the most nurturing of anything. We nurture because we love them, we care about them, we want to see them grow and succeed in this life. We nurture. How you may ask? It’s really the best thing you can do!
Think About How You Already Nurture Your Child:
When your child is first born, you’re there for them twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. We feed them, change them, bathe them, sing to them, talk to them and love them
When your child is a toddler, you do the same as above and then some. We teach them. As they begin to crawl and head towards danger, we tell them, “NO” because we care. When they put their hands up to be picked up by you, you do and you love on them. When they mumble and grumble, you try to figure out what they want and may even teach them the word they described!
When your child is a youth, you do the same as above. Plus, by this time, your youth has a foundation of what it is to be loved on. They should feel safe, secure and trust you. You are who has been there and nurturing their needs because you love them. When a child has a firm foundation and feels they are loved, they are going to come to you for so many things, questions, ideas and will want YOU to be there for them. You are their nurturer and they need you.
When your child is an adult, they have already internalized what it feels like to be nurtured, to be cared for and has developed their own sense of who they are and how they like to feel about themself and how they want to help others feel good about who they are because they were loved.
I’ve heard it said that if you want a man who will nurture you, love you and care about you, watch how they treat their own mother. Or, if you want the same, watch how they treat others, or animals. Are their plants alive in their space? That’s a sign that they take care of and nurture others and things. It’s a nice trait to have, to nurture, not everyone has this desire to nurture others. What about yourself? Its important to nurture you own self so that you can grow and develop into the person you want to be, take care of you so that you can take care of others.
Below is a template to print out and do with your child. You can do the same with them as above to teach them to be a nurturer. Start out small if you feel more comfortable, observe how your child takes care of their belongings. With a pet, give them some responsibility with the pet, if it’s to feed them, make sure their water dish is always full, to play with them, to take them for a walk and to love on them. Our daughter won a gold fish at her elementary school Fun Fair one year. Do you know that that fish lived for seven years! She fed it, talked to it, cleaned the fish bowl and watched Goldie grow. She also had a wild bunny from a friend which she potty trained with a litter box and we kept in the house! This was Butterscotch who lived to be ten years old. Then we had cats and dogs as well. Our one son even had a guinea pig which lived to be nine! All of our animals got along very well and all three of our children took care of them and nurtured them. This taught them responsibility. This taught them what it feels like to love something other than yourself. This taught them how others can and do get along with some nurturing! Unfortunately, it also taught them what it feels like to lose something you really cared for and loved. That was tough, but, it was a part of the circle of life. And, the best part was, we, as a family got to deal with so many things together, talk through the grief and enjoy all of the oh so many fun and happy times! Build that strong foundation at an early age and watch your child grow and develop into the person that they want to be. Be there. That’s the important thing, nurture them.
Tips to Help Teach Your Child About Nurturing:
Plant a garden! Let them help water, weed and pick the crop
Plant flowers! Let them help water and pick a bouquet
Let them choose out a simple pet to take care of (a hermit crab is fun, a goldfish, a kitten or a puppy) Remember, kittens and puppies are a lot of work. DO NOT set your child up to fail.
Ask them for help when you need it, this allows them to feel good about themself and they are learning to nurture
When you’re ill, ask your child to get the Kleenex box, read you a story, or grab an extra blanket
Remember, you are your child’s role model. What you do, they are watching. What you say, they are listening. How you make them feel is how they will make others feel. The words you use they will use, the actions you use, they will repeat, the emotions you share, they will feel them. Show, speak and act with kindness, it’s a start to help teach what it means to nurture.
TELL me and I forget, TEACH me and I remember, INVOLVE me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin