So, You've Got Kids

Love the Earth, Love Your Mama

Mother Earth. It’s a phrase commonly used in our culture, though we rarely think about what it really means. As Earth Day rolls around, it’s a good time to step back and give some thought to the idea that the Earth is a Mother.

For those of us who are mothers, we know that when you are a mother, you are the one who gives and cares for others and sacrifices your own needs for the good of your children and family. You are patient with the small rebellions, small insults, temper tantrums, messes, refusals to clean up, waking in the night, coming home late, forgetting to call…all the things that children do. You handle accidents, clean up spills, vacuum, scrub the toilet, comfort the hurts, etc. You can handle it all, as long as deep down you know you are loved, cared for, and, even if you are a little taken for granted, your loving is not abused. For Mothers, the love children give to you, is the most precious in the world and makes it all worthwhile.

So, what’s it like to be Mother Earth? She has been patiently putting up with us, her children, for a long time. We have been behaving like spoiled brats in many ways – taking her for granted, leaving huge messes, running up big bills she can’t afford to pay and, really, abusing her love and generosity to us. She has been waiting for us to show how much we love her, but that seems to be a long time coming! Some mothers would just walk out. So far, she is still with us.

Earth Day is a reminder. Earth Day is really Mother’s Day. And if we can’t take her out to dinner, we should at least give something back to her and treat her with love and respect.

It’s a good message to give children about treating those we love, and who love us, with tenderness, care and respect.

You can use Earth Day as an opportunity to introduce the idea of Mother Earth to your children. let them know how much the Earth gives to them, and show them how they can take care and show Mother Earth the love and respect she deserves..

It is tempting to teach children about the terrible degradation of Mother Earth that is currently taking place. But rather than scaring them, the best way to teach children to value and appreciate our planet is to focus on the positive.

Let children know what a beautiful and marvelous place our earth is. Share the wonders of nature with them. Teach children what they can do to show their appreciation and love, be it recycling, turning off lights, bringing bags when shopping, reusing things creatively, passing on toys and clothes that they have outgrown to others, treating animals (and people) with kindness, etc.

If you have a place to grow seeds (especially edible ones), plant with your children and have them see the wonder and magic of the growing process. (check out our wonderful kids gardening gloves and tools!)

And most importantly, if you really want your children to learn to love the earth, go outside and Play!!! There is a growing body of evidence indicating that the most important factor in people developing environmental concern is having childhood experiences in nature, with people one loves and cares about. It doesn’t matter if the person grows up in the city or a beautiful mountain community. If children have opportunities to play and have fun in nature in a relaxed, unstructured way, especially with their families, they tend to grow up to love nature and be environmentally conscious.

So head out with your kids and let them freely enjoy just being in the natural world. Take them on hikes, take them to parks, beaches, forests, mountains, etc., and if you can, take them camping! They’ll just naturally learn to love their planet and love their Mother.

I decided to write about spring because – it’s spring. So I sat down and thought about all the different things that spring means – new life, flowers, green grass, new light, daylight savings time, hopefully no more snowsuits, happier moods,; a general reawakening.

Then I found this quote from Mark Twain:

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours. ~Mark Twain

“Wow”, I thought, “He is so right on.” In spring we get our hopes up with hints and teasers of warm sunny weather. then it snows again or rains, then it’s sunny, then it’s hailing etc.

The more I thought about it the more I realized that this is what life with kids is like. In one day your kids can have one hundred and thirty six different moods. And we have to ride the waves.

As soon as our babies are born, we quickly learn that their state of being can change in a second. They are quiet and content and then suddenly they are miserable. Pick them up and suddenly they are quiet and content. Their tummies hurt and they are miserable again. And on and on. We learn to be flexible. We learn that (most) babies are unpredictable. We learn that there are cycles in a baby’s day. And as we struggle through those early months, one day, much to our amazement, we experience the miracle of our babies’ first smile. Like the first flower of spring, our babies begin to blossom.

As our babies grow into toddlers and our toddlers into preschoolers and our preschoolers into school age kids and then -oh my – into teenagers, the 136 different moods continue. We’ve all had many experinces of having a wonderful happy time with our little ones, then they get frustrated or hungry or tired, (or they have to leave Mountain Baby) and suddenly we’re immersed in a tragedy. Again, flexibility is key: we just have to deal with what’s happening. and accept that there’s been a dramatic change in the weather.

But with increasing maturity, and our love and guidance, children learn to express themselves in other ways than crying (sometimes). They learn to tell us what’s wrong and how they feel. We teach them how to go through “stormy weather”. They begin to learn some self control and they develop skills in being with others. We begin to see the person they are becoming.

It’s easy to get discouraged when we see the ups and downs. The 136 different moods and feelings are very challenging for us.

I remember hearing from a very wise and experienced parent, that when your children are most difficult, they need you the most. And I’ve learned from my many years in working with young children, that children often go through very stormy times right before they are going to make a major developmental leap forward.

Our children’s growth and development is like a perpetual spring. There are always new awakenings, new blossomings, sudden hailstorms, soft warm breezes, torrential downpours, and then, a beautiful rainbow appears.

Let’s appreciate and rejoice in the miraculous growth that we see unfolding in our children. And let’s remember what Robin Williams says about spring:

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”

Enjoy!