Roll Over

Rethinking how I communicate with son, via Anat Baniel

Tonight, I was trying to gIMG_7471et John through the bedtime prep rituals, including trans-dermal vitamins.

I said, “Roll over”.  (Surely I said “please”.  Can’t remember.)

I was thinking like the past, “like a log”.

I needed to to squirt the vitamins on his stomach, not his back.  It is his job to rub them in.

John did roll, in a completely new way: a forward roll like in gymnastics.

I have been reading Anat Baniel’s book, “Kids Beyond Limits” and trying to re-train myself on new ways.   Anat Baniel Kids Without Limits

By minimizing praise and not bossing him around, not distracting him from any and all variations his brain and body are trying, moving in new ways is supposed to “just happen”.

It worked.

And all I was supposed to say was, “you rolled over in a new way”, celebrating inside but not on the outside.

Great book.  A must-read, and I hope it helps your world.

Peace be with us,

Gayle

Mom. Educator. Advocate. Ally. Consultant. Activist. Team Builder.