A Letter to My 5 Year Old

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Dear Jaden,

Today you are 5.  No longer my baby, but you always will be.  You are a full-fledged little boy now. You are reading, you are writing, you are ready for Kindergarten and so, so excited.

  

You have been waiting for this day for a long time. With a brother who is 2 years older, he is just the coolest thing in your eyes, and you love him so much.  You have been wanting to be 5 years old since you were 3 and he was 5!  You keep up with him, doing everything he does, just as easy, just as fast.

Your favorite thing to do is play baseball, and your coach said you were the best "first pitch hitter" on the team.  Always practicing, always trying to do your best.  You love all sports and seem to be a natural.  Every day you are kicking balls so high that they fly into the neighbor's yard, and you giggle with delight.

You love adventure.  On Tuesdays, your "Fun Days" as we call them, you start the day by making a list of all the fun things you want to do.  Look for bugs? Check.  Play outside? Check. Color Star Wars pages? Check.  Play "Reading Eggs" online? Check.  But your favorite thing to do is play Legos with mommy.  You've let me know that I'm not the best Lego builder, and I'm not the best baseball pitcher, but I'm getting better.

You have a lot of friends, but your best friends are Dylan and Jason at school, and Willem and Kai at church.  You are one happy boy when you're with them.

You are hilarious and make us laugh every single day.  Taking pictures is a new hobby for you, and you love to take self-portraits of yourself making funny faces.

Your favorite toys are Legos, of course, but especially Lego Star Wars and Lego Ninjago.  You put together sets that are for boys ages 8-14 with ease.  Today you did an entire set in 15 minutes; I am shocked every time!

You are my snuggler.  Ever since you were a baby you want to be snuggled in close to me every time you are tired or sad.  Each night you sleep-walk right into our bed, and snuggle up next to me or daddy, wrapping your arms and legs around us, tucking yourself in tight.  Your hugs always make me feel better.

You love to be loud and crazy, but you have a quiet side, too. New situations bring out the quietness in you, but once you get going, you are a ball of energy and fun.

You also have a sensitive side. Being the youngest in your group of friends, sometimes you feel left out and I have found you hiding under your covers, crying because your feelings were hurt. If you only knew how much they love you.

You have a tender heart for the Lord.  Anytime you are hurt, sad or concerned, you will ask to pray with me.  Whenever I am hurt or sick, you come and pray for me.  I cannot wait to see how God uses you.

My prayer for you is for innocence, for wisdom, for joy, and for the continued ability to make good choices even if those around you aren't.  As you go into this 5th year of life, and you continue to grow way to fast, I pray that you will know the love of God and the love of your family more closer than ever before.  I love you, my Jaden!

Having a Strong-Willed Child

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It is amazing how two kids can grow up under the same roof, have the same parents, be parented basically the same, yet be so incredibly different from each other.  We are the parents of two boys - one is a strong-willed child, and one is not.

When I have described what our life is like with our strong-willed boy, many mothers nod sympathetically, because they know what it's like.  Then there are some who think they have a strong-willed child, but they really don't - they just have a child with certain preferences.  Others have no idea what it is like to have a strong-willed child, and they are the ones who like to dole out advice to the rest of us, saying things like "Well, if you just do this..." or "I don't let my child get away with that," or they assume that we as the parents are doing something wrong.  I'm all for receiving advice and help, but when someone who has no clue what it's like to have a strong-willed child starts rattling off what they would do, it's a little like a non-parent giving a parent advice.

Because we have one child who is not strong-willed, I know what life is probably like for everyone else.  He is a happy kid, he makes decisions relatively easily, and he goes with the flow.  You give him two choices, he will pick one - maybe begrudgingly, but he'll do it.

Yet the other child will fight tooth and nail about every decision, all day long.  This mama is tired out.  With meltdowns almost every day over clothing, lunch choices, homework, bathtime, dinner and bedtime, I know I am developing some new grey hairs.

We try to give him as many choices as possible.  If it is cold outside, we tell him he needs to wear pants, but he can choose whatever shirt he wants.  This child will fight with us for 2-3 hours, crying and screaming, over his desire to NOT wear pants, but wear shorts instead.  If we give him a choice between what we want for him vs. a punishment, he will always choose the punishment. This child is not swayed by any punishment whatsoever.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when you know you have a strong-willed child.  The simplest decisions turn into all out wars.

Yesterday I went searching for insight, for help, for anything I could find on what we can do better as parents to handle our spirited child.  I came across this broadcast on Focus on the Family that was so encouraging and so helpful, that I had to come here to pass it on.

Surviving the Strong-Willed Child, Part 1 of 2
Surviving the Strong-Willed Child, Part 2 of 2

You can also buy her book called "You Can't Make Me," and read an excellent excerpt here.

Cynthia Tobias gives a very accurate description of a strong-willed child, and says that these children make some of the best leaders and responsible adults. They just need all of their energy channeled into a positive direction.  She gives practical tips on what parents can do.

Now, granted, today we tried to employ some of these tips, and still found it hard.  Micah had a field trip and needed to wear his school t-shirt.  When it came to the shorts, he wanted to wear a pair that were dirty, which he has already worn 3x this week (due to this same clothing issue).  We told him he could choose between 2 other pairs we knew he liked, but he refused.  He chose a punishment instead, and went to school in the dirty shorts.  After over an hour battling this issue, he had to get to school or be late.  Now, I know many readers are immediately thinking "well, you should have done this or this or this," but trust me, we have tried many, many options. This is life with the strong-willed child.  So, the morning was difficult, and I am ready for a nap at 9:15am.

Why do I share all of this?  It is hard to admit when things are real...when things are hard.  Yet I know that so many of you share this struggle. We love our children so much, and it hurts to be in constant battles with them.

I have always been encouraged by other parents who are now "on the other side" and can empathize, knowing how hard it is.  Leave me a comment and let me know if you also have a strong-willed child, and what resources (if any) you have found helpful.

You can also read my past post about the Strong-Willed Child, along with 2 excellent book recommendations here.