We get asked a tonne of parenting questions every day from our wonderful community. Parents writing in and asking big questions like; how to talk about sex, how to deal with sibling rivalry, child anxiety and more. One question that has come up a lot recently is, is this quote on quote 'normal'?
Ultimately, you are the best person to know the solution to what is challenging you about your child and their are always so many variables to consider. Maggie has written a lot about the potential differences between boys and girls, the role of epigenetics, temperament, school environments and more.
And, we need to remember and embrace that our children are one off miracles. No one like them has ever been here on this earth before. So, when we get concerned, we must be comparing our unique child to something else; a growth chart, a developmental timeline, siblings, peers, something someone said and this can often make things much worse.
If we are open to exploring who our child is without putting it through the lens of 'measures', we will find it easier to accept the child we have.
In this month's Maggie Moment, parenting, author, educator and host of the Parental As Anything podcast, Maggie Dent encourages parents to see their children not as "solutions to be found, but rather puzzles to be discovered'', because within every single child their are unique strengths and gifts.
Maggie shares that as she is approaching 70, she continues to learn and discover more about who she is and how exciting that is and how she didn't realise she was the rooster/orchid child until she wrote her book Girlhood.