{"id":1221,"date":"2012-11-28T14:40:40","date_gmt":"2012-11-28T19:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/?p=1221"},"modified":"2012-11-28T14:47:57","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T19:47:57","slug":"another-look-at-life-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/2012\/11\/28\/another-look-at-life-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Look At Life Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Every so often Caidin goes through phases where he needs to test out and try on the behaviors of others. He happens to be in one of those phases right now.<\/p>\n

Now, if you have kids, you might be thinking, \u2018they all do that,\u2019 and they do. In fact, we all do. I know adults who still try on the dynamics of other people.<\/p>\n

As a Conscious Parent, I feel like one of my jobs is to help point this out to Caidin when he\u2019s doing because this dynamic is wrapped up in what we are trying to learn.<\/p>\n

The past several weeks has been a bit challenging, although, while I was in India, Caidin was apparently really good.<\/p>\n

His current phase is manifesting this time like this: he\u2019s taken to \u2018just saying things\u2019. So for example he\u2019ll just say, \u2018I want waffles.\u2019 When I point out that possibly there is a nicer way to ask for waffles he\u2019ll say, \u2018oh, I wasn\u2019t asking for waffles, I was just saying, I wanted waffles.\u2019 There have been many, many instances of this and it translates into both physical desires as well as what he\u2019s thinking.<\/p>\n

Over the past weeks I\u2019ve tried to understand what his thought process is. I\u2019ve tried to get him to see that his \u2018just saying\u2019 is the same as actually saying. But he just hasn\u2019t been getting it.<\/p>\n

Yesterday though, he said something, and I again pointed out that there might be a nicer way to express his thoughts and he started to cry.<\/p>\n

I asked him what was wrong and he said \u2018I don\u2019t like how I\u2019m acting.\u2019 We had a long talk about \u2018how he is acting.\u2019 He told me that kids are \u2018making him do things at school.\u2019 I asked him what that meant and he said that they are pressuring him to do things he knows aren\u2019t right \u2013 like chewing gum during school. So, not huge things, but succumbing to peer pressure is never a healthy thing.<\/p>\n

This gave me an opportunity to talk to Caidin once again about our life lessons and the way in which they show up in our lives. I explained to him that he is being given the opportunity to stand strong in what is true for him and until he learns that lesson, he will be given that same lesson over and over. The difference is that right now it\u2019s chewing gum and saying swear words and being demanding; but when he gets older it will be more serious things like drinking, drugs, skipping school and staying out past curfew.<\/p>\n

He tried to place the blame on his friends and I reminded him that no one can make us do things and that we are ultimately responsible for the choices and decisions we make.<\/p>\n

He went off and thought about all of this and later I noticed that he was trying really hard to be polite, be considerate and be helpful.<\/p>\n

Caidin is a really good kid, but it is so easy to see how, where, when, and why a child can make a choice that takes them down a path we don\u2019t want for them.<\/p>\n

As a Conscious Parent all we can do is continue to help them see their life lessons and support them in learning these lessons. At the end of the day, the path they take will ultimately be their choice. Just as we tell our kids that they have to take responsibility for the decisions and choices they make, ultimately, we also need to let them.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2012 Christine Agro<\/p>\n

Christine Agro is the founder of The Conscious Mom\u2019s Guide\u2122<\/a> and author of the forthcoming \u201cThe Conscious Mom\u2019s Guide to Natural Healing and First Aid for Kids\u201d.<\/p>\n

Join Christine for a four week tele-course on the Spiritual Side of Parenting<\/a>. Learn the deeper reasons we are in our children\u2019s lives and they in ours, learn ways to understand and see them, what they are working on and how to better support them from a conscious perspective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every so often Caidin goes through phases where he needs to test out and try on the behaviors of others. He happens to be in one of those phases right now. Now, if you have kids, you might be thinking, \u2018they all do that,\u2019 and they do. In fact, we all do. I know adults…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":495,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,16,3,107],"tags":[9,486,124,527,358,25],"class_list":["post-1221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conscious-parenting-2","category-conversations-with-caidin","category-life-as-a-conscious-mom","category-teachable-moments","tag-christine-agro","tag-dealing-with-peer-pressure","tag-life-lessons","tag-teachable-moments","tag-the-conscious-mom","tag-the-conscious-moms-guide"],"yoast_head":"\nAnother Look At Life Lessons - Life As A Conscious Mom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/2012\/11\/28\/another-look-at-life-lessons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Another Look At Life Lessons - Life As A Conscious Mom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every so often Caidin goes through phases where he needs to test out and try on the behaviors of others. 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She has been interviewed on radio shows around the world, quoted in health and consumer magazines and e-zines nationwide and she is the founder of The Conscious Mom\u2019s Guide website. \u2022 Christine enjoys supporting women in all stages and phases of life. \u2022 Christine sees the power of today\u2019s children and seeks to support them in retaining their inner light. \u2022 She believes in living life passionately and purposefully. \u2022 She believes in the body\u2019s natural ability to heal and supporting that ability. \u2022 She believes children are conscious beings who have an unlimited capacity to understand and learn. \u2022 She believes children should be treated with respect and given the support and guidance to help them understand the world they have chosen to live in. \u2022 She believes all relationships offer us insight into what we want to learn and heal this lifetime. \u2022 She believes we all have the power to live a passionate and purposeful life. 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