What do you need? Kids need it, too.

Wow, I am tired. After a week of vacation, I returned to real life with a bang last week. Do you ever feel like when you finally get through your long days at child care and have a weekend, or better yet- a few days off, and allow the pace of life to slow down a bit, you come back to a place where people seem to have sped it up? Maybe it's the stuff you missed out on when you were gone and you have to play catch up, or maybe it's because you allowed your own life to slow down for a bit that everyone else seems to be sprinting in comparison. Sometimes it seems like it would be best to have a sign around my neck that says "Give me a minute- my body is back at work, but by brain is still on its way."

Or, maybe you're in the opposite place. Maybe you are reading this with a painstaking realization that you have been sprinting for longer than you can remember, (just taking a trip to the grocery store without tugging a small hand behind you would be a start!) and taking some "away time" sounds like a dream. Wherever you are right now, it is so important to stop and realize that each of us is living life at our own pace. Different paces. All the time.

...NEWS FLASH:  that's okay :)

Sometimes we are moving way too fast. We catch ourselves in a tizzy, and need to slow down. Sometimes we just need a little extra time to get our juices flowing and get back up to speed.

Realizing that all around us, adults are living life at different paces based on various life circumstances... we have to realize that kids are the same way. Kids have things going on in their lives just like adults do.  And, like us, they have lots of feelings about what's going on. The difference is- they often don't know how to express them. They don't know how to say "I need a vacation!!" or "Slow down! One thing at a time, please." So, what do they say to let us know where they are internally? Well, unfortunately it probably won't come out as words.
   
 

Tantrums. Screaming. Crying. Flailing. Refusing. Throwing. Hitting. Kicking. Biting. Running.



...sound familiar?




We are our own regulators. What do you do when you need a break? Maybe you let your co-worker know you need to step outside for a few minutes. You can take a deep breath. You can take a walk... something to take a little "vacation" from the many demands of your day-to-day (or sometimes minute-to-minute!) life.

When kids need a break, they need us to teach them what will help. They need us to be their regulators and to show them when a deep breath or "vacation" from the busy classroom activity might do a world of good. Or, maybe they're just moving a little slow today and need a little extra patience.

You know yourself. Give yourself what you need.
You know your kids, so give them what they need.
 

-Lillian, and the CCC team