Parenting.

I have been a parent for all of 13 months now, and that, makes me an expert. Ha. HAHAHAHHA. OK, now that we've all laughed at how ridiculous that statement is, lets get back on topic.

Today, I let a 7 year old boy supervise my 1 year old in the play room of our local community center. This little boy is known for...raising hell. But, I have babysat him and he is asmart kid that just wants someone to pay attention. He listens to me, and I trust him to do what I ask of him. Before I left, I asked him if he would watch Lucian and come get me if for any reason Lucian started crying. He said yes. And guess what? He did! He did an awesome job, and when Lucian started crying because another little boy was hitting him, He took Lu away and came to get me. I left my son with a terror who I'd given responsibility, and both of them made it out the other side unscathed, and probably benefiting from the situation.

I am not a perfect parent. Occasionally, I let my son cry, because I just want to have a minute to myself. Sometimes, like today, he goes for much longer than the suggested time allotment between diaper changes. But, I think I m a good parent. I spent a large part of today observing multiple parent/child relationships, and here is what I learned....

Yelling at your child...constantly...probably not helpful, and often just makes me question your parenting.

While Children are not perfect, they generally want to please you and have your attention...give it to them!

Teaching your child to worry about their actions not the actions of others, can help them to behave.

If you watch the people your children behave for, maybe you can learn something...

Bad parents, aren't necessarily bad people, they just don't know what they're doing.

I can't parent other people's kids, but I can be a ray of sunshine for them.

Is there a real big life lesson here? Probably. But I can't put it into words. All I know is that I am so thankful for the parenting know how and abilities that I have been given and learned. Lucian and I may both make it out of this alive.