One Small Step

My husband and I often joke that someday our children will be in therapy for something, but self-esteem probably won’t be the issue!

Our 3 year old congratulates herself on everything from walking up and down stairs without help to putting her clothes on with “the tag in the back”. It is not unusual for her to say to me, “I’m a great jumper…I’m a great walker…I’m a great (fill in the blank).” When we play games or read books, she often says “Mom/Dad, you’re a great reader.” She jumps out of the car at preschool, waves goodbye and never looks back to the carpool line. She is not a tenative soul.

Likewise, our 5 year old is very confident and wants to do things for himself. One of his favorite things to do right now is see how high he can reach in various places throughout our house. Granted, he has grown several inches in the last year. I have to admit that, sometimes, I find his ability to reach things to be a help.

Today, he reached a small milestone along the “confidence road”. Without prompting, he TOTALLY dressed himself for church – head to toe including brushing his hair and getting his shoes and socks on! He has been dressing himself during the week for some time, but I have never allowed myself to let him go it alone on a Sunday morning. I still subscribe to the idea that what we wear to church should be a little nicer and more presentable than what we wear other places (that is a subject for a totally different post). Suffice it to say, I have always buttoned, tucked, and brushed after he was finished with the basics of getting his pants and shirt on. Today, I laid out his clothes and left the room to help dress my other one. The next time I saw him, he was fully dressed with hair combed and all I had to do was straighten his collar. He knew that he had accomplished something and he wore huge smile when he walked in to my daughter’s room. I swear I think he was standing up a little taller!

Of course, I praised him and complimented him on how handsome he looked. For me, it is such a small thing to get completely ready to go somewhere. For him, it is an accomplishment and another marker of how he is growing and learning new things.

Like all mothers, I have a lot of prayers and hopes for my children. Someday, if they need therapy, I hope they get it. If it turns out that self-esteem truly is NOT the problem, I will consider that my husband and I have done a great job!


Copyright, RPL Communications, 2006