Encouraging Mommies

 I just came off a wonderful two days with my grand children and of course our children too.  I totally enjoyed being with these precious little ones and love being a Mimi!! I got a sweet call from our two that live too far away to get to real quick and it brightened my day to hear their little munchkin voices.  While we were there John and I enjoyed giving the parents a little time off and we watched the babies.  Two of them that is.  One is five months the other thirteen months.

It is so wonderful to see them grow and develop into little people.  Rosie is walking, pointing and in so much awww of the world around her.  Caffrey is wide-eyed and starting to smile and laugh at the people and animals that
surround him.  Both are doing what they are supposed to be doing.  They are so blessed to have such good mommies and daddies.  They love and touch and talk to their children. They teach them and read to them and all kinds of wonderful things that mommies and daddies do.

When I think of this, I think of my practice and what I see.  I see a lot of single parents that have never had the opportunity to know what a healthy parent-child relationship looks like.  I see mommies that are struggling just to get up in the morning and I see mommies that struggle to put food on the table.  There is usually not anyone around to tell them when they are doing it right, but they have heard how many times they've done it wrong. How important it is to tell mommies that they are doing a good job.  Even when it's not perfect they are are loving their babies as best they can.

Many are hurting and don't know how to think above their own needs much less a little ones needs.  We in our society don't know how rough they may have it.  We think, how dare that mom not discipline that child.  Or why in the world did she just let that kid have a big old coke, or why does she let him talk to her that way?  We haven't walked in her shoes.  We don't know what was happening in her life that day or in the past.  We are so quick to judge when it's done badly, but so slow to encourage when they are trying to do the right thing.

What about the single mommies.  I remember being a single mom, there was no one to take the children to get a card or help them make a gift.  It made me a little sad.  Not that I needed that, but I wanted to

teach my children how to give back, and mommies and daddies do that when they help them with gifts for those in the family.   You might want to help a single mom with her kids and help them find ways to tell their mommy thank you.  It encourages her in her hard times.

I hope you will find a mommy to encourage today.  She might not have had enough sleep, or she may not be getting a lot of support from the daddy.   She might have had a very fussy, sick baby for several days and she is exhausted.  Help her to see the good and bring the good out in her.