1. Smiles and Giggles
This is one of my personal favourite Rewards that I get every day when I wake up. When I wake up at 7 am and look into my 18 month old's face and see his glimmering eyes and his crooked smile, I can't help but to think, "mischevious little bugger." I bet you thought I was going somewhere else with that!
The truth is, and not every parent will admit it, you dread the first-thing in the morning routine! Especially when the first thing on the "to-do" list is changing diapers and/or washing sheets! But that doesn't mean that your children's laughter isn't rewarding.
My son, Jude, loves water. If you leave a glass with a quarter inch of water in it within his reach, he won't drink it. Jude will actually spill it all over the floor, get on his hands and knees and try to see how far he can spread the mess before mommy finds him! This was all fine and dandy and, frankly, cleaning a puddle off the floor every once in a while didn't bug me at all! That is, until he found the toilet! Now, when I hear the sound of his pitter-patter feet heading towards the bathroom, I know to take off running! The funny part is that when I catch up to him, he laughs a chesty, whole-hearted laugh and slaps his knee! This is how I get payment for my nearly fatal take-off to stop him, reward 1 for mommy and no spanking or time-outs for Jude. I wonder every day if he's just playing my weaknesses!
2. Seeing more of Yourself
I am sure you remember when your little wrinkly ball of joy was first born. I am also equally certain that you remember hearing, from your side of the family that this little baby looked just like you. From the other side of the family the baby looks like the other parent and some friend of a friend believes that the wrinkle above the baby's bum belongs to Uncle Bill. You probably just sat as I did and stared at your baby, nodding in agreement to all the banter around you and realizing that this little baby was tiny, with tiny hands, feet, face, etc.
Now, maybe a few months or years down the road, you look at that same child and realize Reward number 2: He/She is a lot like you. I mean, these little people are so different and absorb so many things that you don't even realize, but then you see it.
Throughout the day, I tend to sing to my children and my husband will often call it obnoxious (even though I rock!). One day, as I awoke from my peaceful slumber, I heard a sound ("na-na, la-la") coming from my kids' bedroom, so I decided to drag myself out of bed and realized that my son had just lurred me like a siren to his bedroom. What a lovely sight to see, my son, with his hands through the bars of his 5 month old's sister's crib and his hand on her bum, gently singing her a lullaby and rocking his head like a metal head! This is when i finally realized that my boy is absorbing the parts of my personality that don't seem to stand out to anyone else but him. Reward number 2 gained and heart softened.
3. Responsibilty
Though this Reward may seem more like a disadvantage to your lifestyle before children, it really isn't. Responsibility is something we try to teach our kids every day of their lives and our parents did the same for us. There's something that clicks though, when you hold your child for the first time, that tells you, I want to be around for this little person. So, maybe you accept your responsibility and all of a sudden decide to sell your motorcycle and buy a washing machine! (yes, I do know someone who did that!) Soon, you begin giving up other parts of your life, like drinking, drugs, smoking, etc. Then, before you know it, you are living a healthy and productive lifestyle. A reward within a reward.
4. Respect
We try to get respect in every aspect of our lives, but few of us strive to earn it at home first. When dealing with a hard boss, teacher, in-law or just a plain old difficult person, isn't it nice to come home, get that nice welcoming smile from your young ones and then ask them to do something, AND RECEIVE IT. Remember, though, that in order to receive respect you have to give it, even when it means saying, "please" and "thank you" to an 18 month old and a 6 month old.
The other day, whilst sitting comfortably on the couch with my 6 month old, she decided to fill her pants. Deciding to use this as a teaching tool (truthfully, being lazy) I asked Jude, "Please, can you go get Lily a diaper." My son dropped EVERYTHING (he was playing very happily with his toys) and he got Lily a DIAPER! I could not believe it. My son had not only absorbed the words "go get" and "diaper", but he responded to a request without objection. The reward of mutual respect was enough to make me change my facebook status! (oh, my busy social life!)
5. Love
This Reward is, by far, the greatest. Lily, my youngest, is this adorable, bald little baby who cried every moment until she was six weeks old. One day, her demeanour just changed and she stopped crying, but nothing was more rewarding than holding my baby and having her quietly fall asleep on my shoulder. Even though she probably had no idea what she was doing, i knew she was showing me that she loved me, despite all my moaning and groaning about her crying in previous weeks.
Love is the greatest reward every day. Make sure to bless your children with this reward as they bless you with it.
Just today, actually, I was making noodles in the kitchen and my husband was busy in the living room. My son was playing and coming to see me every few minutes to see if I was ready to play. Finally, he came to me and grabbed my leg with every ounce of strength in his little body and rested his head on my lap and, clear as day (for a parent) he said, "I love you mommy and daddy!". What a moment! I didn't know whether to hop for joy that my 18 month old had correctly formed a 6 word sentence or scoop him up and lavish him with hugs and kisses, so I did both. That is one reward that will pay for years to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment