Teaching kids contentment BY ERIN PAGE. PHOTOS PROVIDED.
As the holidays draw near, the obsession with wish lists, parties and MORE everything seems to take over my household. And it’s not just my kids who often need to take a breath, it’s me, too, who requires a reset. We asked several local moms how they inspire contentment in their kids and families, not just during the holiday season, but all year long. ALI MEYER AND FAMILY. PHOTO BY CHOATE HOUSE.
Acknowledge emotions Get grateful The first step in finding contentment is often acknowledging feelings of jealousy, anger or frustration. Erin Engelke, mom of three and director of Oklahoma City nonprofit Calm Waters, which provides grief support for families, witnesses daily the value in validating children’s emotions, whether over a significant loss or simply wanting something a friend has. “Our job as parents is to acknowledge what they are feeling, even if it doesn’t make sense to us,” said Engelke. “Otherwise, they think they are wrong for feeling that way and the next time don’t feel safe to share how they feel.”
KAY AND REX ROBINSON
“We do bedtime gratitude where we take turns sharing things we are grateful for that day.”
Reminding kids while they can’t control what happens to them, they can control how they respond helps them harness their power to choose positivity, even in hard circumstances. News personalty Ali Meyer practiced positivity when she was unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2018. Meyer found comfort in sharing her feelings with viewers, and her four girls.
Oklahoma City entrepreneur Shelley Leveridge practices nightly gratitude with her 5-year-old daughter. “We take turns sharing things we are grateful for that day,” said Leveridge. Kourtney Aller, director of Children’s Ministries at Church of the Servant, suggests asking kids what they would buy if they had unlimited funds, and then discussing what the family has that already meets their needs, or helping kids make gift tags to label everything they already have to be thankful for. “Instead of focusing on what they don’t have, this helps them to be grateful for what they do have,” said Aller, a mom of two. An attitude of gratitude helps children realize “stuff” doesn’t last forever and instead focus on their relationships and how they can make others’ lives better. “They realize it will make them happy to make others happy,” said Aller.
“There are things to be grateful for even in what seems a dark and dismal diagnosis,” said Meyer, who had a mastectomy followed by several reconstructive procedures. “This is treatable and curable and I’m focused on that and not what I’m losing.”
Shelley Leveridge ERIN ENGELKE AND FAMILY
12 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / DECEMBER 2019
