Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve kind of had a thing for the Olympics. My Dad ran track in high school and pole vaulted in college, and then he and my Mom were official track and field judges for a number of years in their retirement, and since they were interested, so was I…kind of by osmosis.
So, the Olympics have been on my radar lately and Google noticed so I’ve been getting lots of articles and news about the events, but one article in particular caught my attention…It was typical clickbait…something along the lines of “the question Simone Biles keeps telling journalists to stop asking.” I admit, I fed the algorithm and clicked the bait…but I ended up being pleasantly surprised because her question was one I wished the world at large would stop asking about babies and toddlers.
That question?
You just won the gold?! What’s next?
Simone points out that these athletes have worked their entire lives to get to this place, this pinnacle achievement, and it’s over in a blink…let athletes sit in the moment a little. It reminds me of what well-meaning friends and relatives ask when they see a child achieve a new skill…wow, rolling over? Are they crawling any? Oooh, finger foods…have they tried a spoon? Oh, I hear that babbling…any words?
I’m exaggerating a little here because of course we are excited to see what’s next in a child’s development…it goes so very quickly! I’ve been away for a week and even I, a RIE teacher, can admit I’m excited to see what changes abound. But the Educaring Approach invites you to slow down to what’s now, instead of what’s next. Staying present helps ground us and keeps us in connection with who babies are in the moment, so we can meet them where they are. And you get a special reverence for, an appreciation of, the hard work babies and toddlers are doing all the time that helps them get to those exciting milestones we all look for.
Just recently, a Mom and I watched her baby spin on her belly, twist and roll, chasing toys, and following her heart’s desire all the way across my big playroom floor. For the first time. The weeks of rolling back and forth in one small space had built her strength and stamina, slowly giving her more agency and grace as she practiced her flips. The time we allowed her to stretch for toys or simply stretch gave her the space to decide what she was ready to go after and what she could wait on. And in the space of those 90 minutes, I don’t think either of us thought (much) about where she was headed next…we were simply present with each of her micro movements…each turn and twist, in awe of each careful head tuck as she rolled…until suddenly we realized this anchored baby was anchored no longer.
And that’s the real reason to hold off on looking too far ahead…it will slip by quickly enough…as Auntie to niblings between 6 and 16, I can tell you that time passes far more quickly than you can imagine. And yes, there will absolutely be exciting and pinnacle moments in your lives, but if we live a life of chasing the next moment, we forget to live in this moment. So, slow down whenever you can…remember to do less and observe more, so you can enjoy most.