Growing Together

It occurred to me early on in life that I would serve as both my children’s first teacher, but my daughter is the one who required more of my guidance. I had become very conscious of what was required of me to help her grow into a more well rounded person. I knew that I needed to give her as many skills as I possibly could to help her to navigate through a world that can sometimes be less acceptant of someone who may be different from themselves.

They are so many life skills that we all have to learn to get along in the world. I realized that I wanted my daughter to have both self maintenance skills and the interpersonal skills to deal with other people outside of our home life. I taught her how to maintain personal care skills of taking care of her hair, skin and general hygiene upkeep. She has also learned how to do basic household chores like cleaning her room, helping with food shopping, putting away groceries and folding laundry.

As far as interpersonal skills I wanted to make sure that she learned how to talk to people in a way that allowed her to express her needs and be heard. When we go out eat or shop she has learned how to make a request for whatever she wants to purchase with very little guidance from me.

In addition to these few examples there are so many other things that she has learned. I’ve found whatever I managed to teach her evolves directly from her helping me to learn more about what she needs. This is what helps us to continue to grow together.