The last few days have been so hot here, this is nothing unusual for the South of Spain and it is my 3rd time to experience a summer here, so I know what to expect, heat wise that is. But it is so difficult to get things done, I look around me and see mountains of jobs that need to be started and completed but in the heat it just doesn't happen.

So My days have been spend hanging out with my 3 girls and making sure they are okay, hydrated and dirty ( as dirt is the best sun protection), my 16 month old has really got that covered. She is such a grubby little viking warrior, always exploring, naked and barefoot and it fills my heart with joy to see her like that. My other two are pretty much in the same boat, not so much viking energy but they both got their own style and way and oh how I love to watch them blossom and bloom, unattended.

There is no Viking blood in my family, not that I am aware of anyhow, but my youngest is so tough and when she gets excited she puts her two hands into fists and squeezes, and that squeeze seems to travel down her whole body. She is a force and such a joy to watch. When she gets it into her head to do something, she is off and I usually follow at a distance behind to see where she is going and what her intentions are. Sometimes it is just a walk around the land, other times it's to find the cats and dogs and give them a squeeze. We are really working on, the no squeezing part with the animals. Some days are better than others.

It is so important to just let our children be, to trust in their abilities and common sense. No child wants to intentionally hurt themselves, yet some parents are so over protective that they are constantly sending out danger signals. It is those signals that are the most dangerous. That little jump or reaction that is made when you see a child climbing up something of attempting to do something that others deem too dangerous for them. The child picks up on that and that breaks their concentration and that is when they can fall.

Children are so smart, yet rarely are they given any credit for their skills, let alone even have them acknowledged . All the time I see parents saying No, don't touch that, don't do that, don't go there. I had a lot of that when I was over in Ireland visiting my sister. Having to child proof the house. Having my daughters inside most of the time was bad enough, and on top of that was the constant pressure to keep them away from certain things, because they are dangerous or because they could be broken. We all know, that when you say no to a child, they are then on a mission to investigate that thing even more. You say the same to an adult and you bet they would be the same. Children are inquisitive, it is in their nature. It is also how they learn and by saying no all the time we are killing that natural instinct to discover and learn and sending them a very clear message. that we know better, that we know what is best for them.

And of course this sends them down the path of seeking all of their learning from others.

I see everyday how capable my girls are, the 2 eldest learnt to swim by themselves, of course I was close by. They also learnt to cycle by themselves, climb trees, talk, walk, write, draw, create, plant and grow food and live. Their imaginations are amazing and they come up with some awesome games, with multiple characters, who all have their own unique voices and mannerisms. They are constantly reinventing and coming up with solutions to lots of problems that arise within their worlds. All of these things that they achieve, comes from them, their skills in observing and interacting, in their imagination, in their willingness to try new things and explore. They are not afraid to ask me questions, to make mistakes, okay sometimes they can get a little frustrated when things don't go their way, but that s normal. All of this has come from them having the freedom to become who they are meant to be.

The freedom and respect that they deserve. Think about it, our children come into this world, full of wonder, so eager to to learn all about life. This is a natural instinct and when they are babies, they discover and explore mainly through taste, so everything they grasp goes to their mouth. That is where we start to interfere, by saying don't do that, don't put that in your mouth, at such a young forcing them to not follow their natural instincts and it just continues on from their. We have a responsibility to our children, to love and honour them and give them the freedom to explore and learn. Like I have said and will in all likelihood keep saying, our children are so capable, so so capable of finding their own way.

Listen to your child, listen, watch and learn, because they are the real teachers, they are the ones that will led us back to ourselves. They will help us remember that we are the ones that create our own world and we do not need others to tell us how we should live, because we, are more than capable, of doing that for ourselves. We just need to remember.

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