I think that practising Aware Parenting, being present with our babies as they cry in our arms, setting loving limits with our toddlers and children, holding our toddlers and children when they rage, laughter games, power reversal games…. all these bring such growth to us as well as to our babies and children.
When we are with them in their sadness, their frustration, their rage, their fear, their grief, their joy, their wonder, their awe, their presence, their amazement, their ebullience, their excitement… well, we are with all of those in ourselves….. and when we can be with all of these things in ourselves, then they can flow through us freely, without constriction… we become bigger, able to be more, to hold more, to feel all our range of feelings without holding any at bay, where they would otherwise become stuck and atrophied.
It’s kind of similar to letting wisdom flow through us, letting feelings flow through us. We return feelings to their true nature, which is movement (e-motion)…..
So whilst we may think Aware Parenting is about helping our babies and children retain their wholeness, actually it is as much about letting us return to our wholeness…. our willingness to give this to our babies and children becomes a self-loving willingness to have these things for ourselves….. and the beauty is, we do it to give to them, rather than to receive for ourselves, but in giving we cannot help but receive…..