I have noticed that people are spending more time on electronics and less time truly focused and engaged on their interactions with other people. Our attentiveness and listening skills have been abandoned for major headlines and constant never ending alerts from our countless devices.
Our son plays flag football and our teams are newly established as the season has new players integrated with former players. The emotional intensity peaks as we get closer to the championship, so outcomes to games are more relaxed towards the start of the season.
As moms, we tend to root for our kids as they are excelling and when they make mistakes. I noticed that some parents are harder on their kids than others. Some have exceptionally high expectations, while others are just happy when their kids are spending the majority of the time on the sidelines due to the mere fact that they are a part a team.
I noticed some teams celebrating by having the parents create and arch for the kids to run under to celebrate winning the game. I decided that our team should celebrate at the end of every game because we are celebrating the coaches and players for trying their best. My goal is to have both competing teams all celebrate under the same human arch regardless of who wins or loses to build sportsmanship.
We know that kids learn more by observing than by being told information and that their values are often mirror their parents. I am reminded of how important it is to take time observing how we speak to others, the tone of voice that we use, the words that we say, and our intention. Often, the way we communicate is so much more important than what is actually being said. It is the softer side and the visual cues that mean more than the content because it comes from the heart.
