Margot is almost eight.
"Little late in the game, Cheech!" You may be thinking. "Why now?" I dunno. When it comes to parenting I have always placed more value on experience than books and formal training. I trust my instincts, or the wisdom of people around me. Parenting books just seem so...rigid..so...not me.
I really have no regrets. Margot is turning out to be a pretty cool kid.
But when an opportunity arose this past weekend to sit down with some other parents, I thought "what do I have to lose?" and decided to try it out (at the very least it would make for an interesting blog post!).
And guess what? Miracle of miracles, I learned something!
For example, I learned about this "wonder" technique, where I ask Margot questions after I read her bedtime story to make her think about what she has heard. Pretty obvious in hindsight to be honest. But actually as I listened to the teacher what really struck a chord was the fact that I don't spend enough time just listening and talking to Margot before she goes to bed. She can be a frustrating little rascal and often my thoughts are full of the days events and grrrrr I just want her to sleep. I need to fight the urge to rush my moments with her.
Another cool thing I learned was about silence: playing a game where you don't talk for a long period of time and simply draw or read or do crafts with your kid. Supposedly children love this. I tried this out on Sunday and it totally worked. Margot, Glosette Girl and I coloured some mandalas in silence for a good 30 minutes and Margot didn't want it to end. It was so relaxing hearing the scratch of the pencil crayons.
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