Picture it—it’s Christmas Eve, and Essie and JoJo are sharing a pullout bed in the cabin in the mountains where they are spending Christmas with Daddy and Mommy. The girls are almost 3 and 5—the perfect age for being giddy with anticipation and excitement over Santa’s visit sometime in the night.
The giggles and half-whispers are almost non-stop, so Emma finally intervenes with a firm but gentle, “Okay, girls, it’s time to settle down now and be quiet so you can go to sleep. Remember—Santa doesn’t come unless we’re asleep.”
Essie’s response is this: “Okay Mom, but when our laughs start coming out, we just can’t stop them.” This of course, was followed by more giggling from both her and JoJo...with Emma and Dwight smothering plenty of their own.
Okay, first of all, how do you argue with reasoning like that? On Christmas Eve, no less?
Secondly, we all need to take a lesson from these two. We need to raise our children in an atmosphere that fosters laughter. Our goal needs to be making sure their lives are such that smiles and laughter come often and easily.
There is plenty in this world that isn’t smile-worthy, but your kids don’t need to know that. Not now. Not yet. Teach them stranger danger? Sure, but that doesn’t mean they have to know all the dangers that are out there. Guard their access to the internet? You bet, but you can do it by emphasizing the good instead of the bad. Set boundaries and rules? Absolutely! But don’t smother and hover to the point of crippling them.
What I’m trying to say is that you need to teach them to recognize the bad but focus on and cling to the good. Fill their lives with as much good as possible and don’t ever admonish them for finding and embracing the joy to be had in life. Don’t ever discourage their laughter…except maybe on Christmas Eve so ‘Santa’ can come...and then get some sleep before morning comes.
Love,
Momma D
Copyright Darla Noble 2019. No part of this can be used or copied without permission from the author.
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