One family recounts the fun and rewarding story of the loss of their five-year-old daughter’s favorite pink bear.
This bear was more than just a stuffed animal. It went everywhere with her. I saw it every day at school, parents said she never left it. One day towards the end of our parenting class, pink bear went missing. The little girl had no idea where he could be. Parents, who had formally struggled with swooping in and fixing every little problem for their kids, calmly shared in their daughters sadness and asked what SHE intended to do about this loss.
They recounted how that moment of responsibility completely changed the situation. What would have been a fit-filled, stressful search for something their daughter had lost, now became a wonderful learning experience for their young girl.
They watched her begin to sober up her hysterics, and plan for how she might find him or replace him. They were able to provide suggestions and be resources, but in the end, their daughter knew who was responsible for losing and finding that bear.
The bear was never found, but the story is happy. Just two days after this incident the same daughter could not find her gloves. Talking with her mother she said the following,
“I really seem to be having trouble with losing things. I’m going to have to fix that.”
The joys of watching a young child recognize and respond to their responsibility over their own life are worth far more than the cost of one little pink bear. Mom and dad stay good guys, they stay calm, and they share in a hard, but powerful learning opportunity for their daughter!
Join us to become one of those parents who chooses empathy over frustration, stays calm in the face of chaos, remains the good guys when a problem arises and gets to be a confidant kids turn to in those moments. For more information, visit our Love and Logic ® parenting page.
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