Adventures in Parenting

Photo by blmurch

Pictures are worth a thousand words! When we don’t know how to talk to our children, when words are misunderstood and relationships are frail, or when we just want to express our love that cannot be put into words, looking at old photo albums together speaks volumes.

Day 4 activity for today’s 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge is to look at baby pictures together.

Go ahead, get those photo albums off the shelves or from the garage. This is a great activity to do with any age children. Even if you child is a baby, you will love reminiscing those days that have gone by too quickly. If siblings are fighting, bringing out the albums and seeing each other as babies always brings laughter.

Kids love to hear about themselves!

Sit down together with your children and tell them their story. Everyone loves to talk about themselves. I often recount to my kids the day they were born.

“Do you remember that day you were born?”

“No, Mom, I don’t remember (eyes rolling up!)”

“I remember vividly the hour I went to the hospital. Then when you were born, I held you in my arms when you were 2 seconds old. Your hair was a mess and you were SO cute!”

Looking at baby pictures gives your children a sense of their place in the world, their Roots, if you will. If you have a teenage who feels disconnected with the family, looking at the his baby pictures affirms his place in the family. It lets him know he is precious and not alone. As you look at the pictures through the growing up years, your teenager can see how much he is a part of the family. His heart can be drawn back into appreciating where he came from.

Pictures brings our perspectives back

If you are feeling discouraged or tired being a parent, looking at the pictures will give you a renewed perspective of being a parent. Your vulnerable tiny baby, you held her through the night, you nurtured her, there wasn’t anything you wouldn’t do for that little bundle, isn’t that right? Don’t you wish you could capture those feelings of those first few minutes of the birth of your child? The best part is, there are no labor pains now! Recalling those times with your children energizes you to once again be the best parent you can be for your children. To you, they are still SO cute!

No matter what stage of life you’re in and how your family relationships are currently, remembering the good times will remind everyone once again how special it is to be a family.