What are you teaching your child?

I recently went into a coffee shop where school children had been encouraged to write poetry in a specific format. The idea was to consider those around us as they sit alone at a cafe and write about what they are dreaming of. Interestingly the eight year olds continuously hit on two main themes; love, and money.

It made me wonder what we are really teaching the next generation; after all, to imagine what others are thinking, you mind read and must put your own thoughts in their voice;  so our children often think what they have learnt, be that from parents, teachers or the media. 


For them to have in their own minds that when people sit alone they are dreaming of wealth or worrying about money, that they are wanting more or stressing about their lack, would indicate they have heard this somewhere before, because really, can an eight year old actually worry about these things?

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Other themes were around a better job, a bigger house, having friends... only one wrote from a child's perspective, of a boy who had it all, but dreamed of helping the poor. 

Some time ago I posted a question on my Facebook page, asking what advice people would give to their younger self in only two words and there was a common theme; be brave; be confident; be yourself; accept yourself and so on. Yet according to the many young people I work with, their elders are not following their own advice. Young people are making career choices based on their parents' and teachers' experiences, and they are scared; scared of making mistakes, of not earning enough money, of being unhappy, stuck or stressed out, of constantly being tired at the end of the day, of being bored at work, of being alone or of failing.

But this is not a lesson on parenting as such, perhaps more a lesson in parenting yourself. If we were all to imagine we had a child inside of us, that we were in fact parenting a younger self, would you talk to yourself the way you do? Would you make different choices? Would you take greater risks and leaps of faith? Would you encourage yourself to notice all that you are good at? Would you praise yourself for your achievements at the end of each day? Would you notice all that you have and get creative with your resources? Could you be brave/confident/accept yourself?

So my ultimate question to you is; what are you teaching your 'inner' child?

If you are dreaming about more, but are not sure how to get what you want, contact me today to find out how I can support you to reach your full potential and get out of your own way. Comments welcomed: