Mother’s Day

Growing YearsMother’s Day is a perfect opportunity to teach your child respect. Respect for others is necessary for a child to be a productive member of society, as an adult. An easy tool to teach this skill is through traditions, such as the ones we observe during holidays. Grandparents, caregivers and fathers can help even the youngest child participate in Mother’s Day activities. To do this, we must begin by talking to the child about what the holiday means and talk how Mom takes care of him/her and cares about their needs. Lead the child to do something special for Mom. Something she will love.

Now, you may be thinking about shopping for the child. While you can guide a child toward a gift, it should always be the child who makes the final decision on what to give or do. Doing and giving have equal value for Mom and teaching purposes. And, remember, great gifts are in the eye of the giver. Giving of self is always important. Your child should be encouraged to make a gift that Mom would like. If Dad wants to give an expensive item… do so without the child.

When picking a gift from the store, your child should be encouraged to select what he/she believes Mom would love. Be prepared to hold back laughter when the selection is some far out item you would never select. Talk about why he/she thinks this is the perfect gift and include it in the home made card. Children will often surprise you with why the gift was chosen.

I remember when my young son visited his Grandfather for days before Mother’s Day. Little did I know he was diligently working on a present for me. He had taken a big chunk of wood and drilled about ten holes into it to make a pencil holder. He had taken sanded, stained and polyed making it quite beautiful. I loved it and he was so proud! Another precious memory was when my young daughter, who hated to walk in weeds, braved a field full of them to pick the most beautiful flowers. What a joy to see her face when she gave them to me. These moments are the beginnings of respect.