Don't, Shhhh, NO!

I want to eliminate three little words from my daily vocabulary:

"Don't, Shhhh & No".

These three little words seem to always creep out of our mouths, when we're speaking to Estella.

I constantly hear myself telling Estella: "Don't do this, don't do that", "shhh, shhhh, SHHHH!", or "No, NO, NO!". And its bothering me, a lot. She'll look at me with those beautiful big brown eyes, in confusion and hurt. And at the end of the day, my heart hurts.

I hope I haven't ruined her.

I read a poem in one of my parenting books, it caught my attention. It now resides on the fridge door... as a daily reminder.

If I had my child to raise all over again.

I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I'd take my eye off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

By Diane Loomans