Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Letting Them Live THEIR Dreams


“I want Emily to be the best Emily she can be.”

This is what a friend of mine said when she was asked what she wanted for her daughter’s life.  She was speaking from the heart.  She simply wants her daughter to live her life to the fullest and become all that she is meant to be. 

Often times, as parents, we place particular expectations on our children and when those expectations are not met, we are disappointed.  Or even before they are born we have decided their future profession and when they choose a different path we become discouraged.  What we need to realize is that these are OUR expectations and dreams for our children, not theirs.

I was disappointed this fall when my daughter told me she wanted to quit dance class.  In fact, she mentioned it a few times before we finally withdrew her.  I danced from the time I was 3 until I was 14.  Those were some of the best times of my childhood and I wanted the same for her.  I kept thinking she would change her mind if she just kept going, but she didn’t.  I was trying to convince her of the dream I had for her instead of listening to what she wanted for herself.  Now she’s in gymnastics and couldn’t be happier!  I should’ve listened to her sooner. 

I’m sure there will be more times like this in her life when I need to take a step back and remind myself to let her choose her path.  I just want so much for her that I sometimes get carried away!  But the quote above reminds me to celebrate my daughter for who she is; to support her ideas and encourage the good qualities and talents I recognize in her all while NOT pushing my dreams and expectations for her life upon her.  I hope the quote above inspires you to do the same for your child!

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Welcome to our blog! As longtime friends, we recently decided to combine our professional experience (as a speech-language pathologist and physical therapist) and "Mommy Experience" to create a company dedicated to something we are both extremely passionate about - letting kids be kids! Milestones and Miracles, LLC was formed in 2010. Our mission is to empower parents in understanding the natural progression of their child's development (and not rush it along and skip stages). We develop and provide developmental products to support this learning process, bonding families through engaging, fun, and meaningful experiences! We are thrilled to share that our first product, 1 2 3 Just Play With Me is available for sale. Visit www.milestonesandmiracles.com to learn more and order a unique product for yourself & your child or as a gift! We will continue use this blog to share about topics that interest and excite us. Stay tuned!

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