Teaching Parents Lessons

Switching Roles With Your Kids for a Day

I have a seven year old and I’ve been told she’s an Indigo. I’m not sure about that, but I do know she’s an extremely old and sensitive soul. Being a parent is by far the most difficult thing I have encountered. It’s especially challenging with her, because her favorite thing is to contradict. She’d make an excellent lawyer when she grows up with the magnificent skill of argument. She is a water sign, with a water ascendant and a water moon, so the emotions are extreme.

The other night, while tucking her into bed, she was carrying on about how she wishes she were grown up, because then she could do whatever she wanted (typical child). Something struck me: “I’ll tell you what,” I said. “Tomorrow night when we all get home, you can be the grown up and your dad and I will be your kids.” 

The crystal eyes lit up, “really, can I?” she asked.

“Really,” I said. “And you’ll see what’s it’s like to be a grown up.”

Shortly after that, she fell sound asleep. The next evening, she proceeded to make her dad and I dinner, consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. From the look, it appeared as if there was a peanut butter explosion in the kitchen. The gooey goodness was smeared on the back splash. In the midst of waiting for our peanut butter and jelly, we both shouted complaints that she would normally announce. Her response was nothing short of shocking. Each time, she dropped what she was doing she came up to our ear and whispered, “I love you! There, that settles that!”

I was speechless! Why didn’t I think of that? Especially in the heat of the moment when attempting to diffuse an argument or hush a complaint? At the end of dinner and after she cleaned up the entire kitchen (inclusive of the peanut butter explosion), she then took a shower. After her shower she threw herself on the floor and exclaimed, “I just want to be a kid again! Please don’t make me do any more work!” Needless to say, we were both satisfied with that response. We made the point loud and clear, and in the midst of thinking we were merely teaching a lesson, we learned a valuable one ourselves.

For those of you who follow the Law of Attraction teachings by Abraham-Hicks, the familiar words they would use to describe this situation—“Words don’t teach, experience teaches”—rings true here. I can honestly say that in the past, I have taken the “logic” approach and for every argument with her or repeated complaint by her, I would respond with statements of logic of how the world operates and sometimes, in a desperate moment, outbursts of yelling. In the words of Dr. Phil, “How’s that working for ya?” Not so good. This experienced caused me to take a hard look at and change my reactions to situations in order to change the outcome, more importantly, leave with a better feeling after these types of exchanges.

Embrace the contrast, for it ultimately brings about a path to your desired outcome!

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