Friday 20 September 2013

Lost Innocence...

Game On,



I remember vividly as a kid playing in the streets for hours. In the snow we wore moonboots and slid around out of control using the parked cars as boards to check each other into. There was a time when playing hockey was innocent, a game, just like it is supposed to be, and just as in life, there comes a time we lose our innocence.  We get introduced to the reality of life and well, at times, it STINKS!

I deal with so many young people who have recently lost their innocence and have to had to face a pain they never imagined. This pain is real and as a parent is heartbreaking. A huge fear for parents is that our children will have to endure the pain we have - our determination is to protect and keep them from harm. I have come to the realization that we cannot deny the pain in the learning and growing process. 


We can hold them, let them cry, and try to help them make sense of it all. Sometimes we can make sense of it, other times we cannot. We can help them learn how to make better decisions than we did because we can share the pain we went through. I have found that telling them 'not to' does not work; tell them why not to and add because... (insert your pain story here) and you get their attention.

There is no answer that I have ever found to avoid the pain that life throws at us, not one that makes it all better anyway. I have found that education through experience does provide insights not otherwise known. If we are going to be a better as a parent we have to find new ways, have REAL conversations, and help our children connect the dots for themselves. They are going to do it anyway, share the truth and the pain, and they will listen.

Good luck! We all need a little now and then... :)

~ BW

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