5 life lessons I will teach my son before Maths and English

Growing up, I really had to figure things out mostly on my own.

It wasn’t easy.

Do I have it all figured out now? Absolutely not. But I have figured a few things out and I will be my son’s guide every step of the way.

5 life lessons I will teach my son before Maths and English.

1. Life will always be 50/50

There will be times his life will feel amazing, filled with joy and happiness and there will be times where his life will suck and he will feel pain, sorrow and perhaps even despair. I will teach him that in both these times of pure 50/50 that everything is ok. We can work through the pain together and we can celebrate the wins together too.

2. Always be true to himself

For far too long, I lied about my truth. I lived a life wanted by someone else (someone who didn’t even know what they wanted for themselves let alone for me!) and one that I didn’t love. I pretended to love it and I was really good at pretending! I never ever want my son to do this. I always want him to take the time to learn how to reflect on things and be true to himself. Do the things he loves to do and never ever listen to what society is telling him to do.

3. Be kind and caring.

I will teach my son to be kind and caring. To listen to others- truly listen and not pretend to listen. To hold doors open for others even if they won’t notice or say thank you. To hug someone if they are crying and to truly care about why they are upset. To care for others as much as he cares about himself.

4. Know that other people’s attacks are not personal.

I’ve always taken other people’s attacks to mean there is something wrong with me. There is nothing wrong with me! I will teach my son that other people will have their own problems and issues and there will be times that they will take things out on him. I will teach him to not attach their feelings to his. I will teach him that their attacks are not personal and I will teach him how to deal with such issues.

5. Never do something that he really doesn’t want to do.

I did so many things (often for years and years) that I didn’t truly want to do. Life is far too short. And I do regret many of these things. I will teach him to work hard and to always have an end goal in mind but I will teach him that there are many ways of achieving what we want without having to do things that we truly (deep down) do not want to do.

What are 5 life lessons that you will teach your child?