Educating Is Not Imposing A Path, It Is Teaching To Walk
Educating is not imposing a path and saying that it is the path that the child must follow. To educate is to teach how to walk. It is to provide legs, wings, mind and energy for the child to examine all the routes and decide on the one he most desires.
Educate your child to live in a sea of possibilities
As soon as your child came into the world, you told him:
“You are the blood of my blood. It is the most precious treasure I have. Like a jewel, I will take care of you to the end, I will protect you from all dangers. I will never allow you to suffer or be hurt. I will drive away all those who want to do you harm. I will create for you a world of love, acceptance, happiness and peace.”
Then, as the months went by, and when you saw the effects of the education you gave, your speech changed a little:
“With each passing day my heart gets bigger. You don’t know how good it feels to see you walk, laugh, play and play the most unbelievable antics. When you look at me as only you do and call me – Mom! – I feel like crying with emotion.
But there is one thing I have been observing. Lately, I’ve noticed that you just want to be where I am and that when you’re away from me, you feel insecure. You expect me to give you a hand in all obstacles. When he sees an insect, for example, he runs to hide behind me.
Starting today, I’ll educate you a little better. I will teach you to have confidence in yourself. For that, I’ll give you some autonomy and the freedom to make one or another mistake. As much as it hurts me, I will no longer lift you when you fall, I will encourage you to do it without my help. From today I’ll always be one step behind you, but in secret, so you don’t see me. You need to be strong and trust your possibilities.”
When your little one turned two, you made the following reflection:
“How handsome you are. How grown up. I had you just now and today you’ve become the son I always dreamed of. Loving, fearless, intelligent, insightful and yet kind and polite! Who knew that such a small boy would always make a point of getting ahead of the women to open the door?
You are kind. Share your food and toys with any member of the family.
However, today I noticed that you prefer to relate to adult people. In kindergarten, I saw that he likes the company of teachers more than being alone with the other children. I believe you are a little afraid of them. Perhaps this is because they learned to communicate with the language of biting, hair-pulling and picking up toys all to themselves.
It is necessary to educate your fear, learn to live with it. Starting today, I will open up your horizons and I will show you, little by little, the world around you. I have to contain my fears and break the protective bubble I’ve been keeping you inside.
You need to learn to relate, defend yourself, have desires and put your skills into practice to reach your goals. You must learn to strive to achieve your goals.
From this minute on, you will begin to form a strong man emotionally. I will do everything to make it happen”.
And adolescence arrived…
Woman, today your son turned 15 years old. Through the window, as you watch him play basketball with his friends, you remember the words you said the day he was born.
When reviewing them, he notices that as he grew up, the speech changed. If at first you intended to avoid disappointment, heartbreak, and even crying, then you realized that he also needed all that to learn.
The environment full of love, acceptance, happiness and peace it was going to create would not make him the young man you wanted him to be.
Glad you taught him to love, be happy, like himself, trust himself, be selfless and put his best values into practice!
But it’s also good that it taught him to learn from his mistakes, gain experience with his disasters, relate to everyone and simply live.
You didn’t set him a path. But he invited him to study the arts: music, literature, painting; also encouraged him to play sports: baseball, chess, cycling, gymnastics…
Your child knows how to dance ballet, pick vegetables from the garden, do any chore around the house, fix the car…
He is a multifaceted child because he wanted to be that way. You showed him the sea of possibilities before him and let him sail. Today, you expect it to reach any port.
He knows that no matter what choice you make, he will always have you waiting for him.
