This Community Voices column is written by April F. Draine, a parent of three kids who shares stories, advice and tips for those trying to raise responsible humans. Email her at aprildraine@gmail.com.
“We found you on a ‘Blue Light Special’ at K-Mart, in the Cabbage Patch Doll section, and decided to bring you home with us.”
That was my mother’s response after asking every parent’s dreaded question, “Ma, where did I come from?”
Can you recall your own baby origin story or the talk you had with your own children?
Like many parents, my mom found a creative way to dodge my question and possibly bought herself some time from having the “birds and the bees” conversation with her inquisitive 6-year-old; yet for several years, I honestly believed my origin story involved a department store holding an annual discount sale on a garden full of Cabbage Patch dolls.
So, imagine my surprise years later, when I discovered that I was not a human “bean” that grew from the cabbage patch! Even now, I smile and cringe recalling, as a small child, all the green beans I attempted to feed my own Cabbage Patch Dolls thinking they might grow into real people.
Something tells me I’m in good company. Feel free to write back to me or share your own child origin stories as we get to know each other.
It’s a funny reflection and also a reminder of how innocent children can be when taking what their parents say at face value. I think sometimes we forget the power our words have on children. Their innocence and dependence on us are so great as little ones, and it only grows through their toddler, tween, teens, and early adulthood phases. Some variation of our voices, as parents, ring loudly in their heads as they make decisions and interact with others.
Today, I want to encourage us that the words we speak to our children and those we have influence over really hold immeasurable value. It’s not for us to clam up and overanalyze everything we do or say, but it is a call to remember we have such a great opportunity to leave a lasting mark on a child’s life – even if it’s just one kind word or gesture.
What words of encouragement have sustained you from uplifting adulting in your life? What words left wounds? These are the questions I hope we wrestle with as we do our best to raise our children now.
Over the coming months, it’s my hope that in sharing more of my personal experiences – especially now as a mother of three (ages 15, 17 and 23) – that there’s so much that we can learn from each other in growing through life as adults and parents and how we help influence/impact our children.
Let’s Go.
Let’s Grow.
(And eat all of our vegetables, even if we didn’t get picked from the Cabbage Patch doll section! 😊)
If you have an idea for a Community Voices column, email Meghan Goth at mgoth@linknky.com.
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