This is a repost from our private IG group (session families, click to read the 100+ posts over there!), but it feels timely heading into the new year.
I bought and wear this shirt as a reminder to myself, but I wonder if it could be a good reminder for all of us?
If we’re honest, how often do we…
- interrupt kids?
- fill in the blanks when a child doesn’t respond immediately to a question?
- talk as quickly to our kids as we talk to other adults?
- hurry through a task that our kids are helping us with?
- show a solution when the child pauses to consider or repeats an error?
- talk and show at the same time?
…the answer for me as a mom of my young kids was…quite. Quite often.
Please don’t misunderstand me to mean that the entirety of life needs to be done at exactly the speed of the child. Sometimes we have to get things done in a particular time frame, that’s just part of life. (And sometimes, kids want and need speed!)
But as much as possible when we’re spending time with our kids–whether playing, working, traveling, chatting–purposefully slowing down (I’m going to suggest ⅔ pace?) will allow children more time to:
- process
- participate
- respond
- initiate
- persevere
- enjoy
…and lead to more growth and connection.
I may seem plenty slow in the classroom, but honestly my tendency is to talk, walk, and do very quickly. Over the years, I’ve seen what good things come when I intentionally slow myself down, and I’ve taught myself to do it as a habit. I promise that you can too!
I’m Jessica Brown, an AMS certified Montessori infant-toddler teacher, and at Clementine, we offer parent-child classes for ages 0-3+…like mommy-and-me, but more. We learn and chat about topics like this one both in and out of the classroom. If you’re local to Libertyville/northern Lake County, IL and are interested in finding more about our community, I’d love to hear from you!