“It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.”
-Barbara Kingsolver
A few years ago I had the privilege of going away on vacation with a number of people in my family.
After a long day of traveling and sightseeing, we sat outside our cabins joking, snacking and playing games. My mother turned to us and asked about herself “We’ve had a long day today and have a long day tomorrow, so why am I up now?”
I turned to her and responded “Because these are the parts of the trip that we end up remembering most”.
She smiled, agreed, and joined us for a few games of Boggle.
Sure we remember the sights and the attractions, but we also remember the interactions we had with our family members. Such as spending time with them, communicating with them and bonding with them.
I’m sharing this story to make a point.
While many are viewing the current Corona Virus situation as a tremendous difficulty (me included) many children are viewing this a vacation and bonus time with parents.
Parents have the power, more so than ever, to create lasting memories and lessons for their child.
What type of lessons and memories are you giving your child now?
Are you showing them that you are approachable or are you showing them they are annoying you anytime they open their mouths?
Are you participating in their learning and entertainment or are you asking them to make their own arrangements?
Every now and then, there is an open door, the ability for parents to connect with their child.
This is one of those times.
Where some see difficulties others see opportunities.
Seize this opportunity to connect with your child.
Years from now they won’t remember this time as the period where they couldn’t do things, they’ll remember it as the time their parents showed interest in them, spent time with them, and created lifelong memories with them.
Yisroel Picker is a Social Worker who lives in Jerusalem. He has a private practice which specializes in working with people of all ages helping them understand their own thought processes, enabling them to improve their level of functioning, awareness, social skills and more.
To speak with Yisroel about speaking at a child safety event or to discuss a personal case, email him at yisroel@ympicker.com
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So true!!! Though Hurricane Irene was frightening for us as trees fell on neighbor's houses and we had no electricity, my kids will always remember it as a time that we sat on the floor and sang as my husband stemmed the guitar- all by candlelight.
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