The Conscious Parent

results we think matter—making our toddlers kiss people they may not
want to kiss, asking them to perform like puppets so the world can see
how smart we parents are, and demanding they be responsible when they
may not be ready—we rob them of their spontaneity.
Imagine being a toddler in today’s complex world. Everything is fast-
paced and multilayered. It’s so easy to forget that toddlerhood is all
about open spaces and empty boxes—about unleashed imagination and
unencumbered play. In our hurry to see our children walk, talk, and
potty-train themselves, we miss the delight of staying in the moment.
Toddlerhood doesn’t offer us secure places in which to sigh and rest,
as our toddlers swing from clingy and whiny to brazen and defiant.
Constantly reeling us into their world of need, then tossing us aside once
they have been nurtured, they teach us not to attach ourselves to any
fixed set of ideals and expectations.
Because the hallmark of toddlerhood is constant evolution, one of the
major spiritual challenges for parents with a toddler is to live in the
unknown, the state of pure discovery. We can only do this if we are
comfortable straddling what was and that which is still evolving. If we
are wise, we learn to live in the unknown, for life with a toddler is a
constant invitation to the spontaneous, undefined, and unimagined.
Responding to the moment in an ingenious way at every instant, our
toddlers invite us to bravely embrace new worlds, challenging us to be
fearless in the creation of a more authentic identity for ourselves. As we
watch our toddler’s insatiable curiosity for life, we are reminded that we
too can engage the moment with full abandon, living in wonder and awe.