Plant The Seed . . . Allow It To Grow
Children absorb just about everything that they are exposed to from birth to three years of age. This is a very critical time in a child’s life to be exposed to the correct actions, emotions, and words from everyone that is around them. A child’s mind is a proverbial sponge, soaking up everything that it comes into contact with. This causes children to want to, at times, reenact or mimic both the actions and/or words that they have been exposed to.
There may be a question floating through your adult mind of why this may be of importance to the topic of anxiety and growth from childhood. In full transparency, it is very important and a basis for the way that we turn out as adults. As you continue to read through this article, you’ll see how the correlation of childhood exposures from birth to three years of age relate to your existence as an adult. So let’s just say the seed has been successfully planted and is in need of the proper care and nurture in this particular stage of our lives. Take the time to reassure you instill the right tips into your children or children that you are around in this vulnerable and developing stage of life.
- Be warm, loving and responsive
- Talk, read, and sing to children
- Establish healthy and positive routines and rituals
- Use discipline as teaching opportunities
- Keep yourself healthy
These are just a few of the basic ways in which you can reassure a positive and healthy start to a child’s mental health and well-being.
I wish that I could say that these actions are simply understood by anyone that came into contact with children, or even more so for those individuals that have children of their own, however, unfortunately, I am not able to make that statement without having a sense of reservation in that comment, causing me to stress the importance of, at minimum, the above-listed tips.
But, of course, it is the children that shine when they have experienced these wonderful traits instilled in them. If the parents or guardian of the children that we come into contact with have shard these lessons with them, others will notice. What if a child doesn’t seem to have gotten the exposure to some of the fundamental teachings and emotions? What if they were told that what they were exposed to was normal? It’s actually not the end of the world. The great thing about human beings is that when we really put our minds to anything, we can change.
Many of us just want to know that someone cares about us. No matter how young or how old an individual is, we just want to be loved and cared for. Sometimes it may not have been the most loving care or teachings and an individual has to learn how to remove the toxicity that their influencers have exposed them to. This is where the positive influences and influencers are important as we transition from childhood to teenager to adulthood. With the right guidance and surrounding of the right people, anyone can change.
So keep watering the soil and allowing the sun to shine on the seed that you planted, even if it’s still deep within the proverbial soil. As a child, you may not exactly know what this may mean in respect to life and what it entails. That’s perfectly fine as well as long as you know that you should strive to be better. The way that this can be shown to the youth is by practicing the different forms of encouragement and reassurance. When there are positive and reinforcing teachings put toward an individual when they’re growing, there is a better chance that an individual will be more positively impacted. The train can not stop moving at all when you are looking to improve yourself. This is a consistent practice that should never slow down nor stop.
Remember practice makes progress when it comes to bettering yourself.
Like any good barrel-aged bourbon, the longer it sits, the better the quality and the taste. In addition, the more value comes to the seller of the distillery with each bottle. This is where the practice comes in pertaining to the improvement of the struggles with anxiety or other mental health. If you are working on patience, more than likely you are practicing meditation. In order to get better at it, you must practice it consistently. Many times, as an adult, we are not connecting the actions of now to the teachings of then. Usually, when we do it’s because something happens which allows us to reflect on our childhood. It is at that moment of reflection that one tends to realize the seed that was planted has grown into something more positive or has grown much and stunted them in a negative way. However, the practice consistently of habits, routines and even thought processes will only progress you. Remember, practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does make progress.
“Society will draw a circle that shuts me out, but my superior thoughts will draw me in. I was born to win if I do not spend too much time trying to fail. I will ignore the tags and names given me by society since only I know what I have the ability to become.” -Marva Collins, Westside Preparatory School Creed Chicago, IL
You have been continuing to do the work on your progressive development and most certainly you have seen changes in either a micro or macro way. Either way, there have been changes or realizations that you can springboard from with self-development. The practice of enhancement of mental health wellness and self-care has allowed you to see things from a more advanced set of eyes both mentally, physically and even spiritually because you have been practicing these things. At the end of the day, you have begun the process to become better, do more and evolve from the seed of a child to the tree of an adult that can continue to provide strong roots for yourself as well as others that you may impact. Remember, no matter what happens on this journey of life that you are able to evolve as much and as strongly as you choose as long as you commit to it. Completion only happens with commitment. Commitment is the only way to effectively nurture and grow yourself and those around you.
