Welcome to Part II of II. Last week, in Part I of my short collaborative series on Raising Self Reliant Youth, you read about Challice where she shared about sodbusting the next generation and her vision for how she would like to see her family but shares her reality instead.
You also read about Pastor Dennit Goodwin Jr., that shared about how we should nurture our resources to meet the needs of tomorrow and shared a lesson on doing.
Lastly, Cheryl, a local mom to my area, shared how service creates responsibility but produces great rewards.
This week and to conclude this short collaborative series on Raising Self Reliant Youth, three women will share their stories. Be sure to come back and share this two-part collection. Thank you!!
Tools for Life
"We
have two boys—a four-year-old and a two-year-old. They are energetic &
curious children who have a daily hunger for knowledge and experience…in fact,
sometimes the hunger is so strong that I find myself running to keep up with
their desire to try new things, acquire new skills, and grasp the adventure of
life with both hands.
It
was evident from the beginning that they were both going to learn and
experiment whether we were along for the ride or not (just ask about the time
our then-three-year-old decided to test what would happen if he used a plastic
hammer on our family iPad). As a result, one of the ways our family has decided
to embrace our boys’ curiosity is to nourish it through teaching the proper
context and usage for “big” tools. We no
longer snatch away knives at restaurants or bring out the plastic toy tools
when they want to mimic daddy in the garage—nope, we’ve started to instruct
both boys on the proper ways, times, and places to use the real deal. My four-year-old has a small block of wood
into which he practices hammering real nails with a small, lightweight (but
real) hammer. And my two-year-old participates in the kitchen frequently, using
a butter knife to help me cut butter, spread jelly, or prepare his morning
waffle. The key for us has really been teaching appropriate context (never use
these tools alone, and always use them in their proper areas) and usage. Teaching
and supervising proper safety measures has also been a huge part of allowing
them use “big people” tools.
By
introducing the appropriate ways to wield and use real tools at a young age,
our hope is that we are able to raise our children with a respect for how to
use and care for things that are more dangerous in “bigger” versions. We also
hope to empower our kids to know that they can
use the same sorts of tools that we do and accomplish the same results—they
just have to start small. They need to be patient with the process of learning
and growth. And it’s been worth it. Their confidence has soared since we’ve started
giving them opportunities to use real tools in a proper context. They are
frequently excited to help and participate. And if we’re lucky, it will be just
the beginning of many empowering experiences in which they recognize just how
capable they are. In fact…maybe someday they’ll be able to pass along that
lesson to their children as well."
Stacia Guzzo is a
work-from-home entrepreneur, a joyful mama of two, & a wife to her best
friend. Her business, Handcrafted
Honey Bee, creates customizable DIY skin care kits that are sold all over
the country. She resides in Tehachapi, California with her family and two dogs,
two cats, thirteen chickens, two beehives, and a growing garden.
Inspire for Purpose
"Resilience,
another term for self-reliance, is about putting your aspirations and dreams into
action every time and all the time, even when you don’t know the how, what,
who, where, or when. I understood the concept of resilience at any early age
because often times I was told no, when others were told yes, I was given the
least and often times did not have the tools I needed to succeed. I was often
chosen last or not at all when trying to make my life better. I realized that
resilience made me a stronger, tougher and wiser person thus propelling me to
achieve my life’s purpose.
My parents
always told me that dreams should never be dreams long; at some point they must
become reality. If not, then you live a life unfilled and devoid of your
purpose. They were always engaged and interested in what I was doing. They
spoke positive words into my life and made me believe I was important, wanted
and could achieve anything I wanted in life.
My action words
that get me moving are Go*Be*Do. Without these words, I would not have been
blessed to assist others. It keeps me pressing toward the higher goal, the end
game and to be that winner that I was meant to be. I did this by giving back to
the community by feeding, clothing, employing the homeless, empowering and
motivating those in search of their purpose along with donating funds to help
better the life of others. I have been able to touch lives, shift negative
mindsets and change the world one person at a time. You can and you will too if
only you continue inspiring others for their life’s purpose."
Empowered to Inspire, Minister Ceandra Baker has had a lifelong
dream of motivating and inspiring people to find out what their purpose is and
to put it into action, thus coining the name, "The Actionist."
She is the Founder of Inspire for Purpose and CFO and Executive
Director, of Extended Hands Worldwide Ministries, a charitable
organization. Graduating magna cum laude she earned a B.S. in Psychology
and an M.B.A. in Project Management from Columbia Southern University.
Through servanthood, her unique style of leadership has granted
her the privilege to serve communities both domestically and abroad giving aid
and counsel in areas such as: Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Poland,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Italy, Singapore, Australia and Japan, just to name a
few. These self-less acts, have been recognized by The National
Association of Professional Women, honoring her as Woman of the year.
Self-Reliance in Action
“Fostering
independence in my boys and raising them as self-reliant children is very
important to me. We do this through using Montessori-inspired techniques to
teach practical life skills, encouraging them to do things themselves when they
are able to and to try tasks themselves before asking for help, and I do this
through providing my children with opportunities to serve others. I've seen
with my own eyes that even a toddler can serve and how transformative service
can be.
Raising
self-reliant children is something I think most parents seek to do. Making
service part of our children's lives improves their sense of self, their
confidence and their independence. It makes them superheroes and magicians. It
helps them understand that courage and consideration go hand in hand.
Wild Thing
is studying community helpers at school. The school also recently made small
collection boxes available to students to collect Pennies for Patients for the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. On a bike ride to the park the other night, we
grabbed the box and put it in the wagon with us (boys on bikes and scooters, me
pulling the wagon with a few toys). Halfway to the park, we saw people for the
first time during our walk. Wild Thing jumped off of his bicycle, grabbed the
collection box and ran right up to them and asked for help. He did this
throughout our walk to the park and back home. After about an hour, when we
arrived back home, we added up our funds and had $17!! I was so proud of him,
and he was so proud of himself. He realized that he didn't have to wait until
he was a grown up to be a community helper, he could be one now. He can use his
own skills and abilities to help others.”
Jennifer Fischer is a mom of two, as
well as an independent filmmaker who has taught filmmaking to youth, most
notably with Spotlight On Hope Film Camp, a free camp for Pediatric Cancer
patients. Her company, Think Ten Media Group, is also embarking on a dramatic
series to highlight mass incarceration in the U.S. She has written about her
experiences with her sons, Wild Thing (5) and Caterpillar (3), at The Good LongRoad and Multicultural Kid Blogs, with an emphasis on mindfulness, imagination,
and kid lit.
If you feel so inclined and want to feel part of something empowering, watch Jennifer and Ramon's docudrama on The wHole - an internet series, you can support by way of sharing and/or donating to their campaign here through May 6, 2015.
Choose, eat, and live well! =)
In case you missed it, please read Part I of Raising Self Reliant Youth (it published on 4/6 at 6:30 a.m. PST).
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