Yvette Vignando asked Sally Collings about how to get the most out of the boring parts of parenting, why children are like gurus and how to stop feeling so busy and get more connected with what we are doing. In this short video Sally shares some pearls of parenting wisdom that will refresh your day with your child.
Yvette asks:
Gold in the Laundry Basket: I love this chapter about finding the gold amongst the dross of washing socks etc. and I like the quote "You need the courage to keep it going when it seems nothing worthwhile is happening”. How do you suggest that mums and dads do this when they are daily confronted with so many mundane yet necessary tasks and sometimes find themselves despairing, their minds wandering or giving up on the tasks altogether?
Children as Gurus: I have often said that having children has taught me the most about myself, far more than anything I will even teach them. What have your children taught you about yourself and how can parents keep that sense of learning and wonder going? You focus especially on wonder, learning, fascination and play. What can we all learn from this?
The Busyness Trap: I am guilty of using phrases very similar to the one you quote in your book “I am great but there’s too much to do … things are just crazy at the moment” etc. Actually I have started to stop myself saying the part that comes after “but” because I think saying it out aloud affects my own thinking. And it can also change the whole subject of a conversation with a friend. How do you see our busy lives as affecting us – in missing out on what is important? I am of course asking this in a more secular sense – but maybe you have some ideas and suggestions for parents to slow down, appreciate, notice and get connected? Or grab the “odd nanosecond of serenity”
Kirsty was enjoying a childless, single and career focussed lifestyle, until she met her husband. She's still not quite sure what happened, but within the space of 12 weeks they had met, married and were on the move. That was 4 children, 7 countries and a beagle ago. Kirsty is embarrassed to admit that after calling 7 countries home over the past 11 years, she still can't pack a suitcase properly.
Trying to maintain a sense of self, Kirsty has tried everything to find the balance. Part-time, Full-time, stay at home, and up until recently, she wasn't sure if she was ever going to find the right option for her.
Last year Kirsty began writing what is now the award winning, hysterical blog, 4 kids, 20 suitcases and a beagle. Kirsty also spends her time sitting in coffee shops, pretending she's just there for the wifi. It's got nothing at all to do with the muffins.
Kirsty is currently writing a book about her travels, delivering 4 babies in 4 different countries, and is trying to remember her new telephone number and where she packed the can opener.
