Courage

Forgive me if I have shared this with you already.  I promise to go back and read each entry in the fall so I can try not to repeat myself.

This parenting job is tricky.  There is a long TO DO list, things we want to teach our children before they go out into the world on their own.  We want them to feel loved and supported but we also want to challenge them to be their best.

When you add special needs to the mix, you are adding greater challenges that need to be overcome and more support that is needed from you.  You can’t do everything at once. You’ll need to prioritize the things that are causing the most trouble and address those.  That means you will spend some phases of your child’s life playing whack-a-mole with problem behaviors.

It may feel like you’re not making any progress and if your child is hurting themselves, hurting others or being destructive, these phases can seem as if they are impossible to move through.  It takes courage to show up each day and support your child when they do destructive things or say hurtful things.

Sometimes, that courage won’t roar.  It will come amidst tears on your pillow, and it will be the voice inside you that says, “I will try again tomorrow.” Take heart, this is exactly what your child needs. Just keep showing up for them and guide them through to safe behavior and happier times.