My little boy is growing up. Minute by minute, day by day, he is finding his way through this world.
Jack is 4 1/2 years old and as I watch him get bigger, I wonder how long he will still let me hug and kiss him. How many times he with indulge me while I hold him on my lap and whisper in his ear, "are you my best boy ever Jackie boy?"
This summer I have seen a big transformation within him. Although he is my most "typical" child, he still has some obstacles to overcome. There are his receptive language skills that he struggles with, as well as his sensory deficits. But day to day, I see him fight with fear of the unknown. I supposed this is a normal thing for a 4 year old to go through. But to be honest, I have no clue.
I have been trying to build him up by placing him in activities like karate and t-ball. Karate is just something that he really loves, and feels very positive about. He wakes up every morning asking if it is Wednesday (karate day). We have a private joke where we call it "karatay", and it makes me laugh everytime he says it that way.
When he shows me his "moves", it makes me so proud of him. He also has taught me some valuable karate lessons. The first one was when his sister Jessica was in a particularly grumpy mood, and kicked Jack while yelling "HI-YA!".
Jack immediately replied, "Jessica! Master Mitchell says no HI-YA's because HI-YA's are dangerous!!!!"
He has also made some great strides in the water too. When we first started going to our town beach in June, he was so scared of the water. He would barely go in so that his ankles were covered. Slowly, over a couple more visits he would wade in further. He would tell me that he was trying to be a brave boy. I was so proud of him. Now he "swims" out to the ropes, and dunks under water. This is a HUGE deal for him, and he knows it.
Jack is 4 1/2 years old and as I watch him get bigger, I wonder how long he will still let me hug and kiss him. How many times he with indulge me while I hold him on my lap and whisper in his ear, "are you my best boy ever Jackie boy?"
This summer I have seen a big transformation within him. Although he is my most "typical" child, he still has some obstacles to overcome. There are his receptive language skills that he struggles with, as well as his sensory deficits. But day to day, I see him fight with fear of the unknown. I supposed this is a normal thing for a 4 year old to go through. But to be honest, I have no clue.
I have been trying to build him up by placing him in activities like karate and t-ball. Karate is just something that he really loves, and feels very positive about. He wakes up every morning asking if it is Wednesday (karate day). We have a private joke where we call it "karatay", and it makes me laugh everytime he says it that way.
When he shows me his "moves", it makes me so proud of him. He also has taught me some valuable karate lessons. The first one was when his sister Jessica was in a particularly grumpy mood, and kicked Jack while yelling "HI-YA!".
Jack immediately replied, "Jessica! Master Mitchell says no HI-YA's because HI-YA's are dangerous!!!!"
He has also made some great strides in the water too. When we first started going to our town beach in June, he was so scared of the water. He would barely go in so that his ankles were covered. Slowly, over a couple more visits he would wade in further. He would tell me that he was trying to be a brave boy. I was so proud of him. Now he "swims" out to the ropes, and dunks under water. This is a HUGE deal for him, and he knows it.
I guess the moral of this story is to always expose your children to activities and situations that you think they will enjoy. Power through the classes and visits that don't go so well. Continue to talk to your children (as much as they will tolerate) about the activity. And hopefully in the end they will come to have fun and excel.
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