When I was a little girl it was important to “be good” and that was enough. Recently, at our 4 year old pediatrician appointment the infamous Dr. Birk reminded me that resilience not just happiness is what parents should focus on. He recommended a book to help teach resilience that I’ve read before but will read again-Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman.
Blaize and Pepper sandwiching me while snuggling their giant Elsa dolls
Resilience definition: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change
Luckily my 3 critters will probably learn resilience due to the numbers game. I’m completely outnumbered and It’s zone defense for me most of the time. Having to wait turns, share and helping each other might be a blessing in disguise.
Do I want my kids to grow up with resilience and humility? Absolutely!
Sounds so weird to say but “back in my day” I was taught to take care of myself and my siblings at a very young age. I was paid $1/hour to watch my little sister when I was 9 or 10 years old while my parents worked. Nowadays, I prefer babysitters to be in their 20’s at least. It’s a different world. And we stay with our kids a lot longer than they probably need us to. 
Getting our fresh air on while walking around in the pearl
Most of the time, I’m one of two parents downstairs at the bus top in the Pearl district with 30 other kids. It’s very safe with Chapman Elementary Kindergarten right next to the bus stop and kindergarten teachers everywhere. However, I just like walking my Kai bear down to the bus stop and waving goodbye to him.
So, I will continue to walk Kai downstairs to the bus stop with the 30 other kids. And plan on him learning his resilience skills from our big, little beautiful family!
“Que Sera Sera”
babymama3pdx 