Lily's big decision -Encouraging parents

There was a young girl,full of energy and full of life. Her name was Lily. Since she can remember her life was filled with a lot of fun and laughter . Her parents adored her and were always trying to make her see the world out of someone else's eyes.

In her class she was favored by all her friends and all the teachers. Although it seemed like she had everything going for her, in her heart she fell a sadness that she could not describe to any one. So to make sure that no one noticed it, she made jokes and was always up for a challenge. She never wanted to disappoint anyone.

One day when she came back from school her mother was waiting for her on the front porch. As always they exchanged hugs en kisses and talked about her day at school. Lily's mom did notice that something was wrong. That there was a sadness in her child's eyes.
While her mom prepare lunch, she sat on the kitchen table. They talked about the kids in her class and all the jokes they made that day. You could hear in her voice that something was on her mind. Her mom just listen. When she went quiet her mom turned to her. Taking her one hand in hers, she lifted Lily's chin.

"Sweetheart whats on your mind?" mom asked.

With a sad face she looked down, She was thinking on how to explain it.
She knew her mom was a good listener.

"Mom, theirs this friend of mine, that's going through a difficult time and all the students in my class is making jokes about her. They call her names and is always bulling her. I really don't know what to do."
" I feel so hopeless and it makes me sad because she doesn't deserve this."

Her mom took her in her arms and hold her tight.
"Lily come with me" mom said.
They went out the backdoor, down the porch. They pass the lovely garden that her mom cared for so much.They sat down under the big old oak tree.

She asked Lily if she can see the ants between the grass. Lilly just nodded.

" If you look at the ants, they are busy gathering food. But look at that one , do you see him? He is struggling with this big piece of breadcrumb." mom said.

There were silence for a moment.

" Can you see there. One of the other ants came back to help him."
" That's the same in our life my dearest Lily. Sometimes when one of our friends is struggling we have to help them. It's not always easy and we will not be popular at times but it's the right thing to do."
"That ant didn't need to help his friend but he wanted to, with help it's always easier to face challenges. "
"Maybe your friend needs someone to believe in her and stand up for her to gain her own courage."

There were silence again. Her mom was just holding her hand, Lily could feel the compassion that her mom feld for her situation. She thought of what mom said and realized that that was why she had this sadness. She's afraid of losing her popularity. Is friendship stronger than to be popular?

and being popular

HELPING OUR CHILDREN MAKING DECISIONS:

Making decisions is not always easy. Even we as adults struggle sometimes. We have been in situations that our children still needs to face. We made choices in our lives, if its good or bad we learned from it.

We are our children's save haven . We are there to comfort them, love them and teach them how to choose whats right.
The important thing is to built courage and to help our children to grow in it.

HOW TO BUILD COURAGE:
I know our days are filled with work, meetings, driving up and down. But the following is important.
To believe in your child... they need to hear it. When they do something great give them praise for it.
To love your child wholeheartedly... not just telling them but showing it with kisses, hugs and be there for them.
Your home must be their save haven and the place where they feel they belong. Encourage them in all they do.
Make play dates with them... with these play dates help them to overcome their fear. If you believe in them they will start believing in themselves.
Let them try something new... do something new with them.
Help them see the world out of different eyes.
Try to see the world out of there eyes again.

Building our children's courage is an honor that we as parents have. Your child is your priced possession.
If you don't believe in your child, who will?

Enjoy your child again!!