Matthew and I had a little argument yesterday.
He had drawn up a card for one his friends’ birthday. On it he was busy writing the access details to his Moshe Monster. Now for anyone not in the know, a Moshe Monster is a character one designs and plays in a kids game on the internet.
My boys have played this game over the last couple of years and have created and played with many of these monsters. They have often shared the access details with other children and been horrified when these other children have spent all of their rocks or redecorated their houses in very poor taste.
I advised Matthew not to share the access details of his latest Monster. He could not understand my point of view; it is his friend’s birthday after all! It was only later when I replayed this incident in my mind that I realised he had been arguing for the concept of sharing and I had argued against it. A complete reversal in roles! Even more importantly, this was something he had made himself with his friend in mind. As a parent, things to be applauded in my child!
The world continues to change rapidly. As parents, we need to look beyond the obvious and into the deeper motivations that drive our children. It is so easy to ram home the wrong lessons for the right reasons and squander the wonderful opportunities we have to impart real wisdom.
2 comments:
Just stumbled across your blog and found this post fascinating. I don't have children but I agree with your view of finding the deeper meanings in the actions and motivations of children.
Very often we don't give children credit for the positive qualities their innocence lets them possess.
It is necessary in this world that we ignore morals on occasions, but that doesn't mean we should forget to apply the positive values and teachings we impress upon them from an early age to our decisions in life.
Thanks Nat! I now wonder how many times I have confused my children by not seeing their attempts to live by the values we have taught them, when they have done it by pushing other boundaries.
Not sure I would suggest they put morals aside, but certainly help them to prioritise when decisions require a conflicting choice.
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