I was brought up in a beautiful and loving home where children were seen and never heard. My childhood was quintessential “Pleasantville”…at least the way I remember it.
Etiquette classes, make-up training, swim classes, dance classes, team sports, music lessons, anything they could think of to make a lady out of me.
I was quite the tom-boy after a mean kindergartner in my class called me out for seeing my underwear on the playground. After that, it was over.
I swore off bows. I swore off dresses. I swore off anything “girly” unless I HAD to (dances, church, classes listed above, visiting grandparents).
I only got into makeup on my own when I HAD to wear it for winterguard/dance performances, and even then…it was pretty hookerish.
My senior year, I finally got my stride and really learned how to present myself when I started touring college campuses. I didn’t want to be a mess anymore (although, I am still not opposed to a dry shampoo kind of day).
We were a military family who moved around A LOT, but values were never sacrificed. Ever. Even in my “finding myself” pre-teen and teen years, I was always kind to everyone I met. Being raised in this way, I learned to be intuitive to people and what they were needing from me whether I knew the person my entire life or only just met them. I wouldn’t trade that skill for anything.
When I think about how I want to raise my daughter, and I think about that often (DAILY!), I know I want her to have a voice. Not my voice or her father’s, but her own.
I want her to be sharp and intuitive as well, so finding the balance between my upbringing and her own is key!
As a parent you want your kids to have better than you did. My expectations for this girl are sky high, but as her parents it is our duty to guide her to meet these expectations.
With technology these days, I think that’s easier for our generation to do than our parents’. We have access to a WORLD of knowledge. A WORLD of tools to raise our children BETTER than we are.
As part of the parenting community, I’m thrilled to start sharing our path for you to either use with your home-based curriculum or to supplement school activities at home! Our activities are fun and engaging and simple enough for a one year old to do. It’s never to late or early to bring education home.
XXOO
Melissa
#STEAM
Science, Technology, Engineering, ART, and Math
