5 Rules to Live By to Meet Your Different-Brained Child’s Needs
As I shared last week, it’s summer and my children are around all. of. the. time. It’s been a great summer, no doubt, but understand that is by design. I plan for our days, I have a calendar they can refer to, there is downtime baked into our vacation, and I’m at the ready when anything shifts.
My child, who needs structure, has it. I did that for him and for my family. Why?
That’s because I am the all-powerful MIGHTY MOMMY!
I believe while our children are young it is our responsibility to create a successful environment so they can thrive, not just survive.
What I’m realizing this summer (this is not new to me, of course, I’m just aware of it right now) is that every child has needs and those needy-needs need filled. Every child in a family is different in characteristics, in age, in gender, in temperament, in preferences, in just about everything except maybe their skin color. And if your family is blended or you’ve adopted children, even their skin color may differ. And those needs and differences definitely include siblings, who have just as many needs. They’re just different needs.
Special offer: I’ll make an acronym with your first or last name if you share the correct number of how many times I use the word “need” in this post. Let me know your answer on Facebook! Example for my name Mica: M.agnificent I.ngenious C.reative A.ware
OK, back to business . . . this week I wanted to share the set of rules that I continue to come back to day after day, week after week, and year after year as a parent. I forget these rules from time to time, of course. I also forget to work out, I don’t clean out my pantry, my sock drawer is a freakin’ mess (how are there so many unmatched socks?!?!), but these are all things we eventually come back to and resolve.
The rules we live by will carry our children into their lives and into their own parenting journeys, if our children are to become parents. The following five rules for parenting are so important to remember for each of our children, but especially our different-brainers. I hope they’re helpful and make an impact for you and your children.
These just make so much sense to me, ESPECIALLY for our different-brained children. They learn from our actions because so often their own actions just get them into more trouble. Ugh.
Our friends with ODD, PDD, LD, ASD, OCD, etc., are socially awkward, sometimes rude to complete strangers, often louder than we’d like, and offensive on many levels. Openhearted people are everywhere for sure, but they’re sometimes hard to find for our kids who show up differently in the world.
Because of their struggle with social behaviors and interactions, I believe they need even more love, compassion, empathy, and kindness from each and every person they interact with so they know and understand that they are OK. I hope they know that we are supportive of them and their ways of being, with limits of course. 😉 Always with limits . . .
And remember as we share this kindness, patience, and love with our children, you also are loved and you are lovable and you are perfect right where you are! Do you know that? Remember that now–YOU ARE LOVED!!!!!!! <3 It’s almost like I can’t say it enough, but it’s true.
All the very, very best to you,
Mica
Did you find out how many times the word “need” ( <—- including that one) are in this article? Share on Facebook and let me know your name (and your child’s name) and I’ll create an acronym for you!
Did you see my Mighty Mommy gratitude letter yet? You can find it here!
