Intentional Parenting

I'm the oldest of six kids. I have babysat and I have been a nanny. I'm now a new mother and I want to be the best Mom I can. I am a stay at home mom (SAHM) and hope to stay that way. Staying at home is not for everyone, there are various reasons to not stay at home. Some of my ideas may not work well for those who are not in the home full time, but I will try to adapt my ideas for everyone. I recently heard the following quote and loved it!  "No other work transcends that of righteous, intentional patenting." (Elder Russell M Nelson, one of the 12 apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sunday afternoon session of General Conference, April 2015) It does not say how much time that patenting takes and for any who may not be religious, the point is, there is nothing more important than intentional patenting. However much time you have- a few minutes, an hour or all day with your kid(s), what matters is the moments where you are actively being a parent.

With this comes a need to show our children that we love them-no matter what. We need to teach them, and listen to them so we can help them through anything they may be struggling with.

This brings me to what inspired this blog. I have been reading books about teaching your baby math or how to swim or activities to do with your baby. It has made me feel like there are two main approaches to teaching our kids. The first is to treat them like they don't know anything- which they don't really know that much- that's why we teach them; the second assumes that they are very intelligent. Now, today I feel more people assume their children are very smart- which they are, and just because an approach is simple, doesn't mean it assumes your child doesn't know anything. Take for example, the Baby Einstein videos- they usually have a solid background and one toy to focus on. This isn't because babies are dumb but because their eyes are still developing and it's helping them learn to focus. I've been reading a lot from Glen Doman and I agree with a lot of what he has to say. But even he (when talking about teaching your baby math) suggests starting with large white cards and simple red dots- because it's easier for baby to see and focus on. The contrast is what a baby sees best at first.

Glen Doman brings up how intelligent children are. The average child learns both how to make sounds, form specific sounds and speak a foreign language(any language is foreign to an infant) by the time they're two. They learn to roll, scoot, crawl and walk. They learn to mimic us and do many things and they start from scratch. Babies and children are truly amazing! But we can guide them. One of the purposes of this blog is to document my experiments. I have experimented with my siblings and when babysitting and nannying, but I am still trying new things with my son. I will share some of the things I do as I continue to train. I plan on being a Mom who teaches my child (I don't think I'll homeschool but I'll supplement my child's learning). But since I have no degree in Teaching or Early Childhood Education I will write about my attempts to be a teaching Mom.