Growing our children

Right now, because I am busy growing up this child of mine, I am fascinated by the shaping of young minds/bodies/souls. I look at my one-year-old son and other children and wonder who they will be as adults.

Will they be strong, loyal, compassionate, and adaptable people? Will they feel wounded by life events, especially social interactions, and stagnant in misery? Or will they feel grateful for the lessons, courageously become their own person, and give thanks for this Divine experience?

Because of my young son, I have the opportunity to interact with various children's groups. And I have the opportunity to observe the budding social behavior of children ages 6 months to 4 years. It would seem that there are four main kinds of behavior exhibited:

• the child who sits quietly in his mother's lap, shyly taking in the world, rarely smiling, and stiffly going through the motions
• the child who jumps or climbs off out of his mother's arms to explore the room, interact with people, and play independently too --- creatively dodging (and sometimes just barely) the label of mischief maker
• the child who dutifully and joyfully does exactly as the teacher and mother suggest--- returns to the lap when told and plays nicely with the toys or instruments
• the child who arches his back and cries out plaintively, he wants to play longer with an instrument or doesn't want to share at that moment, or he's overwhelmed or tired or just plain moody.

Depending on the day (or moment for some), ANY child can exhibit ANY of the above behaviors. Some possible factors responsible for the behavior shift may include:

• newness to the group
• age, developmental stage (babe in arms, crawling, walking, running), and/or level or ability
• parental cues
• hunger, tiredness, or mild sickness (such as teething)

Of course these are just the behaviors and factors I've noticed. There could be others. However, I've noticed that MOST of the children predominantly stick with ONE behavior type, regardless of the above factors.

I read somewhere that personality is mostly formed in the first three years of life. That is such a small window of time! Three years to create the foundation of a person and help to get it right, wrong, or otherwise.

[In fact, personality becomes so entrenched from that young age that I have witnessed it beyond 'the grave'. During readings, those in Spirit share their essence, especially their personality and behaviors while they were on the Earth plane.]

Personality and behavorial tendencies seem to have bearing on a child's reaction to events, so as I experience these children's groups I am witnessing history and future in the making.

What does the future hold for these beings of Light living a human experience? The adventure of Life.

As parents and loving elders, we have the important task [and joy] of modeling compassionate, strong, loyal, and adaptable behavior. We are helping to write our children's life stories and shape their experience as souls. We are growing our children.