What Finally Convinced me: My Role Matters
As parents, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking we need the latest toys and gadgets, toy subscriptions, apps, you name it, to help our children learn and excel. Like you, I’m just a mom trying to give my kids a bright, long future ahead.
Today, I wanted to share a personal story that finally convinced me: my role matters. I have so much compassion for you, because I’ve been there myself and In so many ways, I still am.
Let’s rewrite the narrative. We want to help you create a life-giving and sustainable practice of play that is sure to increase your child’s communication and the parent-child bond.
Learning math has been challenging for my daughter these days. Like any concerned parent, my first thought was to turn to the internet and search for a fun game or set of flashcards we could try that might help her succeed. As I started scrolling through the options, I had a moment when I realized: I don’t need any of this!
What am I doing?
Do I know how to add? Yes.
Do I know how to subtract. Yes.
Can I teach her how to do that with what we have in our home? Yes!
And so that day, I saved some money. I grabbed a few dice, some pink construction paper, and few fun colored markers.
Sure, the math games, flash cards, and manipulatives have their place and they can certainly make the learning process fun, but they’re not essential. What my child needed was my time, attention, and guidance.
The amount of information, options, and the digital tools promising to make learning fun and effortless are making me question what’s true, wise, and genuinely most helpful.
Why have we become conditioned to believe that external resources hold the key to academic success? The truth is, the most valuable resource we possess as parents is ourselves. We have the ability to sit down with our children and work through challenges together and it’s likely that we can use what we already have in our home.
So where do we go from here practically? When it comes to play, here are a few questions and action steps I’m sharing + digging into that I’ve found to be life-giving and helpful:
What could change in my life because of play? My child’s? Me, personally?
What truth can I hold onto that will always remind me to make the most of the time we have together?
Take inventory of the toys you have in your home. Make a list. Do you own any of our top 10?
To all the parents out there feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to provide the latest educational tools, I want to offer a word of encouragement: you've got this!
Have more confidence in your own abilities as a teacher and mentor. Take the time to sit down with your child, play with them, include them in what you’re already doing, and engage in meaningful conversations.
In a world that's constantly pushing us to seek external solutions, let's not forget the power we hold within ourselves to make a difference in our children's lives. It's not about what we have; it's about how we use what we have.
And when it comes to helping our children succeed, our presence and guidance are worth far more than subscription, fancy gadget, or app.
We’d love to hear from you!! If ETP has encouraged you in any way, we’d be so honored if you’d subscribe or leave a review! — Brooke
Struggling to play? Use our Play Guide and let us walk you through.
You make the difference, but we can show you how!
