"Behind every successful man there is a woman' is a popular saying, I would go on to say behind every successful person there is a teacher. The teacher could be a mother, I can see no better teacher than the mother for a child in his/her early years. We celebrated teachers day a couple of days ago and I received a few messages from children (now young adults in their late twenties) whom I mentored for years and from my own son. What better accreditation does one need than from a son or a mentee who thanks you from their heart for what you have done in their lives.
From the day a woman knows that she is with child she starts to teach the child something or the other, be it love, be music, or about the family. A mother's job starts right at that moment and it never really ends. I remember singing to my son as soon as I discovered that was undergoing bodily changes, there was not even a pregnancy test done yet to confirm the results.
I taught him to identify the voice and touch of his father even while he was in my womb. I spoke to him about God, about family about love and what not. Those days were never ending hours of teaching. Then when the baby was born I taught him to live, to survive, being a premature baby he was in the incubator for days, I decided that I wanted to keep him with me, so we had blankets and hot water bottles all around but he slept on my chest most of the time. My heart beat and his mingled together as we clung on together. What better life coach can there be?
I taught my boys to walk, talk, eat and everything in between needed for everyday life. Later I taught them to be brave, to be strong to be confident, I coached them to move on stage and grab peoples attention as debaters and speakers even while they were young. My little one sang a Christmas carol to a congregation of 6000 when he was three, I am not a singer but I am a teacher and so I taught him. The choir master was afraid that he would be afraid, but not me, I knew my boy.
I have taught my son not from their text books but from life. A good teacher teaches life skills not just academic skills. The three R' s are important but life skills are much more important. I am saying all this because I know for sure that every mom is the same. Every mom's heart beats for her children no matter how old or young they are.
Teaching doesn't have to be something pushed down children's throats, just a gentle look, a holding of hand, a smile, a word is enough to impart the message that needs to be conveyed. Mothers are the greatest cheerleaders for their children, just standing by the sidelines and letting the child know you are there no matter what. this is the greatest lesson of all. It says to the child- I trust that you have the potential and I'll help you get where you ought to be.
Mom's are confidence builders. We teach them that success and failures are a part of life. We help them take it all in their stride even when they are little. Life is a two sided coin and its important to teach this life lesson early in life and most of us do.
Moms are the greatest teachers of truth. We teach children not just morals and good behavior we give them their first lessons in integrity and honesty. What more does a child need?
Don't you think mom that you are the best teacher? I am sure you are the best teacher ever, you have the best interest of your child in your heart, you never give up on your child. You believe in him/her no matter what the world thinks. There would be an Thomas Edison if his mom didn't believe in him. So my hats off to all you moms out there - you are the best!
[This post was due to be posted a couple of days ago, but I had issues with uploading the image for some reason.] I have never posted here in the #motherhood community so far, there is always a first time and I am so glad I did now. Thank you for all your support.