Peeking in on sleeping children

With all the day-to-day activity of being a parent, and with all of the frustrations that parenting can entail, it is sometimes difficult to notice and keep hold of the really positive moments that come our way.

My mother told me when I first had kids, something I have heard from several people since, that after a particularly tough day it’s always good to go and peek in on your kids when they’re asleep, because it’s then that you see them without the distractions of the day. There may be something to this idea, but I would broaden it much further. Whenever I see my kids doing well, whenever I see them being helpful, kind, wise, joyful, loving, mature, or sharing, I try to make time for that moment, to look in on it like I would a sleeping child, to remind myself of what they can be, of why being a parent is important and valuable.

I also try to affirm them in these moments, to let them know that they have done well, not because my love or pride in them is in any way dependent on how they act, but because doing what is good and right is worth celebrating, and also because those moments are something that we can remember during  the times that are harder and more troubled.

So take the time to peek in on your kids, not just when they’re asleep, but in all the good that they do.

Luke is a stay-at-home father of three boys, aged nine, seven, and three.  He has fathered, fostered, adopted, or provided a temporary home for kids anywhere between birth and university.  He has taught college courses, adoption seminars, camp groups, Sunday School classes, rugby teams, not to mention his own homeschooled kids.