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Parenting Excerpts
The following article is an excerpt from The
Mister Rogers Parenting Book, by Fred Rogers, published by Running
Press. Reprinted with permission from Running Press, a division of Perseus
Books.
Echoes from Our Childhood by Fred Rogers
It can be such a challenge, though, to understand just what kind of help
children need from us in dealing with everyday family situations, new
experiences, and especially challenging times. Of course you already have
one of the most important resources built into your parenting: you were
a child once yourself!
Because we adults were once children, we have lived through the same early
childhood years that our children are going through. We’ve had children’s
feelings. We may not remember them consciously; nevertheless, those feelings
are somewhere inside of us.
We may have forgotten what it’s like not to be able to reach the
light switch, or how it feels to be in the midst of a temper tantrum,
but those memories are still there, and they can bubble up within us just
from seeing or hearing something that our children say or do.
Since we were children once, the roots for our empathy are already planted
within us. We’ve known what it was like to feel small and powerless,
helpless and confused. When we can feel something of what our children
might be feeling, it will help us begin to figure out what our children
need from us.
Early childhood is the most important part of life. It informs all that
we do thereafter. All our lives, we rework the same struggles from our
childhood – needing to feel loved, finding a healthy balance between
independence and dependence, being able to handle separation from loved
ones, dealing with aggression, and working on self-control.
Each time we rework those struggles, we have another chance at coming
to a greater mastery over them. When we become parents, just being involved
in our children’s struggles evokes another reworking in us. As parents,
we have another chance to grow. And if we can bring our children understanding,
comfort, and hopefulness when they need this kind of support, then they
are more likely to grow into adults who can find these resources within
themselves later on.
The
Mister Rogers Parenting Book is available for purchase in the Books
and Music section.
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