Learning to follow instructions. I know what it sounds like, I can hear it too, but stay with me and hear me out. If we do not teach our kids to know how to follow instructions, all the things they do in life will be harder than they need to be.

As parents we are leaders in our family, and whether we are good or bad leaders, we are the people the smaller people in our group follow, and playing that role comes with a lot of responsibility as we all know. Let's talk a little bit about what choices we have and how they might play out today on Mamatoto Radio.

Generosity is a very close relative of empathy, I will explain why. When I think of generosity I think of being open to sharing what you have. Whether that is material things, your time, your attention, your affection, or your empathy. My grandmother always said that when people were over and it was meal time, you share what you have between everyone. I think that sounds like a kind and generous thing to do. I also think it’s an expression of abundance rather than scarcity. When we share there is more. We is greater than me. It’s no coincidence I choose to talk about generosity during a pandemic.

Before the pandemic happened I think most of us thought of dolphins when we said pod. Or EarPods maybe. Now our pods are the people we include in our safe zone, the people we pod with are an extension of our family. 

It seems that the pandemic has really been a way to reveal who we really are. Do we care about others? Do we listen to science? Do we put our wants before other people’s safety? Can we follow instructions?

You know the saying it takes a village to raise a child? Today I wanted to take a moment and think about that village, that community and how we can intentionally build that community around our kids until they are old enough to build their own.

I imagine we think we are doing our kids a favor shielding them from controversy, but are we really?

Gifts have always had a bot precious and a conflicted place in my mind. There can be different intentions, purposes and outcomes of gift giving and receiving. I thought we would unpack some of it here today. I guess pun intended?

When I say I think creativity is a super power I mean it. It’s the foundation of problem solving, of innovation, of communication and any kind of artistic expression. And what better and safer way to nurture and encourage it than at home, and what better format to experiment in than in building and making stuff. It’s low risk, easy access and huge potential benefits.

During the past year, it’s almost a year now, we have been sheltering at home and our kids have been doing distance learning for their school. One of the most anchoring and grounding parts of our routine, and what has kept us happy and sane during this time is how we incorporate creativity into our home and day to day lives. 

Have you every thought about the different cycles of routines you have? The things you do every day, the things you do every week, every month, every year? I thought we could think a little bit about what parts of your routines you love and what you would like to change, how it will benefit and ripple into your family.