Why leaving your mobile at home could be the best thing you do for your child today.

The Walk To School
http://www.beyourowncounsellorandcoach.com/author/admin/

A thoughtful and insightful reminder that all the moments we share with children are precious opportunities to create memories and build key relationship skills. Skills which prepare our children to be socially and emotionally intelligent individuals.

My Thoughts.....

We all want our children to be socially skilled, kind, thoughtful and sensitive individuals don't we? Well we are the best model they have for developing these attributes because of the value our children place on us and their relationship with us, and our capacity to offer consistent, frequent input and feedback.  I'm not sure we can do a great job at it if we're on our mobiles every second we have 'free'.

We don't have to be brilliant parents, 100% of the time, just 'good enough', that will do the job nicely! And it is a job....the most important job of all! And not a job solely reserved for parents, we all have a responsibility and a duty of care, particularly teachers who second to parents have the most profound influence on our children's self esteem... an influence that can shape a lifetime!

The good enough mother explained

How it works -  Children form an opinion about their own  personal value, based on how they feel when they connect with us. Each and every time these little interactions occur, a child unconsciously collects feedback from their senses - their 'feelings'. Gradually these feelings add up,  translating into thoughts and beliefs which ultimately become the foundation for who children believe they are and how they feel about themselves and their place in the world.

This sense of who children are and their place or ranking in the world, in our home world, as well as the wider world around them, serves as their personal map of directions for life... a script even.....directions that they will follow and use to navigate their own relationships throughout childhood into adult hood and as parents themselves.

Life 'script' explained

Just 10 mins spent happily connected to you before school, I believe probably does more to arm your child to face the anxieties of growing up than any anti bullying policy a school may contrive.
It's worth a thought next time....