Adapting To Our Weaknesses
A couple of years ago in 1st grade, my youngest son, Aaron, had some of the worst adolescent anxiety regarding school that I had ever witnessed. It was absolutely heartbreaking.
In an effort to satiate that anxiety, we would often forego the morning bus ride and I'd drive him directly to school. Once there, he would inevitably meltdown in the car; "Mom, please! I don't want to go to school! I'm scared! I just want to stay home with you!" Consumed with fear, there was no room left for connecting, learning or even the fun that those early elementary years offer.
But even though those times were incredibly hard, we were learning.
It was messy, but we were learning.
For me, I learned that as much as I wanted to 'save' my child from the anxiety of school, I couldn't. But what I could do, was instill in him the belief that he was safe. That I was always there. That I loved him, and that at the end of the day I would be there for him, ready and waiting to h…
In an effort to satiate that anxiety, we would often forego the morning bus ride and I'd drive him directly to school. Once there, he would inevitably meltdown in the car; "Mom, please! I don't want to go to school! I'm scared! I just want to stay home with you!" Consumed with fear, there was no room left for connecting, learning or even the fun that those early elementary years offer.
But even though those times were incredibly hard, we were learning.
It was messy, but we were learning.
For me, I learned that as much as I wanted to 'save' my child from the anxiety of school, I couldn't. But what I could do, was instill in him the belief that he was safe. That I was always there. That I loved him, and that at the end of the day I would be there for him, ready and waiting to h…
