So much of empowerment comes from inner child work & so much of what I’ve learned about how children should be treated comes from my own experience raising littles. Our children really are such great teachers. So this week I thought I’d spend some time musing about ways to help raise empowered children and maybe empower yourself along the way.
First off, children are autonomous beings. I think right away we forget that. We think we name them, we keep them alive, we pick their clothes and food. Plus they look like us and they are biologically predisposed to believe we are the best. So It’s tough to think that they have different ideas, different emotions, and different perspectives than we do. This is the same for you. You are not exactly like any human being. You are your own person with your own thoughts, perspectives, and experiences. If you find yourself trying to fit in and be like them (whoever them is) take a break from that and see if you find some power lurking in that action alone.
Second, children aren’t little adults. Their brains actually work differently than adult brains. Way differently and way less holistically. Children are known for centering things around themselves. It’s how they survive and get their needs met. It’s good and by design, but it’s different. What’s important to remember here is that when you were a child you thought like a child. That was good, then. But now, it’s time to challenge some of those beliefs. Nobody likes me, or this and this is dangerous, or I’m not good enough may be beliefs from a time past when a little person was trying to explain their lives in the only way they knew how. Ok then. Not so helpful now.
Lastly, children need choices appropriate for development. Annnddd…..consequences for those choices also appropriate for development. This is not punishment. This is how the world works. No one wants every single aspect of their life controlled. On the other hand, a free for all and a 5 year old are a recipe for disaster. When we allow children to experiment in safe ways with their choices and face the natural outcomes of those we empower them to bold, courageous and full of integrity. Here’s the fun one, you are never going to become an empowered adult if you do not take responsibility for the choices and allow the consequences positive and negative of those choices. When you let yourself fully into it, you become unafraid and take reasonable calculated risks(well things you used to call risks) and will feel so strong each and every time you move through another with every lesson it teaches you.
Get out there. The world needs exactly who you were made to be✨