When I was a child my dad made a cross-country skiing track for me and my siblings. It went up and down and around the big fields surrounding our house.
I do not remember how young I was when I skied for the first time. But I do remember that I loved it from the beginning!
I remember skiing alone and feeling the wind on my face while sliding down the hill. It gave such a strong and positive experience for a small girl about her skills. She was able to do something all by herself.
Skiing also gave me the first experience of being alone in nature. I remember enjoying a lot of tranquility and safeness, that I felt there. Even though I was only a small child.
When our family moved to the countryside last autumn, it was clear to me and my husband that we wanted to offer the girls the same experience.
So my husband made a skiing-track and started to teach Unna how to ski. Unna was thrilled to get on the skis!
She also set a good example to her little sister, who was more than interested in following Unna practicing.
In the evening we also draw a “skiing-list” with Unna. Now she could mark every round she would make and see the progress in her new skill.
When Unna marked his first rounds to her list, I saw myself in her. I remembered keeping the same kind of a list, and feeling proud when the number of rounds grew day by day. It was a big deal to me at the time, and I saw that it was also a big thing for Unna.
Providing opportunities for children to develop themselves physically and mentally and teaching them variety of ways to be active. And to help them to have a chance to say “I did it!”. That is so important for a child’s self-esteem and wellbeing!
But it´s also important for us parents.
Experiences of succeeding in parenthood improve our self-esteem. It gives so much when we are able to teach and pass on something good to our children.
Teaching your children is not always easy nor simple. But at those times you succeed and see the joy on your child´s eyes, that is something special. It´s something that makes all your hard work worth the effort.
Me and my husband got that experience today. And it gave us so much energy and patience to keep on learning to be good parents! We did it today!
