Before I had my daughter, I lost count of how many podcasts, books, Instagram pages and advice columns I consumed in regards to pregnancy and birth.
Then the baby comes, and you realise, “oh, that was just half a day (in my case – shoutout to the women who spend days and days labouring), but what the hell comes next?”
Why did I listen to 175 podcasts on birth and zero on early infancy and keeping a kid alive?
Let alone managing toddlers and independent personalities and tantrums and juggling work and family and keeping everyone (mainly myself) sane.
I kinda hope that this little column of mine each month serves as a little friend along your parenting journey if you’re at a similar stage or earlier than me, or simply some amusing little anecdotes if you’re much further along or children aren’t in your life.
If you’re in column A and taking some scraps of advice from my learnings and experience, I have one for you today that might be my favourite nugget ever.
Find. Your. Thing…
I wanted that to be nice and snappy but I think it requires a few more words, so you understand what I’m trying to convey.
Find your thing… with your kid.
My daughter is two-and-a-bit and she is incredibly independent, active and curious.
We take her to trampoline parks, we try hit a new playground each week, we’ve trialled dance classes and bikes and scooters and whilst all these activities were wholesome and wonderful in their own ways, recently we started toddler gymnastics (yep, it’s a thing) and something has clicked.
We found our thing.
She is moving her body and exploring a range of motion she hasn’t been guided in doing before. She is in a group setting but in charge of her own autonomy. She is challenged and encouraged and is seeing other kids being challenged and encouraged and it’s making me emotional simply writing these words.
I don’t know if gymnastics will be in her life forever, but I do know we have lit a spark in our little girl.
One about respect for her body and respect of exercise and mobility and what a gift that is for a child.
It’s something we can share and bond over and yes, mum and dad now get to move in such a freeing, childlike way as well, dopamine can’t help but swell.
I love that we’ve found our thing and I can’t wait to see where this takes us.
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- The people we meet at Latitude 32 Wines
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- Are you inclined to recline, ask Matt and Brett
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