Intelligence + Intuition

When I posted this blog two years ago, I titled it “The Patient Child.” Revisiting it now, I find myself entitling it (Intelligence + Intuition). However, it is as accurate with my grandson today as it was over thirty-five years ago with my daughters. As an educator, I want to ensure that my grandson has every possible chance at his best life. His strong mind is a great tool to have, but only in conjunction with the heart—a heart-mind combination. Teach your children to utilize and manage their minds, develop their emotional intelligence and listen with their hearts. As they grow, they will be better able to find the answers to life’s difficult decisions within themselves, as close as their heartbeat.

The Patient Child

When my firstborn was five months old, I bought two programs; one was how to teach your baby math, the other was how to teach your baby reading.  I wanted my daughter to have the best in life, I didn't want her to struggle in school the way I had as a child, and I was sure that this would give her a strong foundation. 

From the time she could barely sit up on her own, I carefully followed all of the directions and incorporated them into our daily routine. She seemed to enjoy the process, and to my amazement, she did very well with the programs. 

I felt like the best mother for finding a way to give my daughter a head start in the world of academics. I will never forget a time when we were playing the reading game sometime around her second birthday.  She crossed her little arms, looked me straight in the eyes, and said: "Mommy, you are getting on my nerves." 

After I got over the shock of my daughter speaking her first complete sentence, I realized that she was expressing her truth through a well-crafted sentence that she must have been trying to put together for some time. I packed up the games, placed them under the bed, and never took them out again. 

I realized that although it was true that she could learn to read and do math at six months, it wasn't the best use of her time or mine.  I realized that our time together had been more about me needing to heal my past instead of enjoying the present moment.

Find the perfection that exists in every moment instead of trying to make every moment perfect.  Be the parent you long to be. Those that love you are waiting.