Yesterday we planned a trip to Ninja nation – we showed up in the morning and there were over 150 kids from a camp there. My little 5 year old, K, was a little deflated but we decided we would come back in the afternoon! I assured her it would be just fine, as her cousin was over so he could experience it, she was excited to take him! We have been to many different ninja places and this place a few times, and I am always in awe and excited to see how brave she is! She loves the place and the show and is always trying everything!
We do not live close – so we drove 30 mins there and had to turn around with sad faces to drive home 30 mins. I worked some and the kids played and laid down for a rest and we loaded up to head back.
When we got back the place was fairly empty which is perfect! We started with the main obstacle run and I could tell K was being timid, I tried to encourage her and help her remember that she’s done all the obstacles before but she seemed off. We were excited to show her cousin all the things the place had, so we went up to the big obstacles. This is where K normally shines – in the face of fear she overcomes and does great things!
But not today, she got on the obstacle and froze – I helped her down, she froze on the ladder going back down from the big section and as a mom I was trying to be encouraging but also trying to move her along because other people were trying to climb the ladder and when kids are excited they are not very patient. She was overwhelmed, I was feeling lost in trying to help her. No matter what I said to her about how she had done these a million times or that she can do it! Nothing was helping.
She seemed to just get more and more overwhelmed by her mind telling her she can’t. The crocodile tears were starting when someone came up and said “What’s going on?”. As a parent you seem to always feel like you are being judged, so I almost responded nicely none of his business, lol – but I looked up and realized it was Karsten Williams, a Ninja that we had watched on TV many times and someone that works at the gym.
He stepped in and talked to K – gently helped her quit looking like tears were starting. He asked her if he could help her out. At that moment I felt like I failed her a little, I couldn’t help her get out of her own way. But that’s sometimes how life goes right? Sometimes you need others to pick you up and remind you that you are awesome. And sometimes that is not the people closest to you – a complete stranger can change your path.
As I watched from across the way – she was having such a hard time being brave, and he was able to pick up her spirit. She made it across the obstacle and came back, she was still feeling timid but he helped reset my mind as well. Watching someone else care for my kid like I do made my eyes fill with tears, (I quickly wiped them of course because it’s not cool to cry at Ninja 😉 or as a sane adult with minimal sleep!) But seeing that helped me take a step back.
That’s the point right – it takes a village to raise kids, and it’s not always your closest family and friends. Sometimes others surprise you and are exactly what you and your kid need.
I am soo grateful for that moment because it helped me see that she was just having a tough day and we all have those. Sometimes we wake up and don’t feel like the best version of ourselves. We don’t feel like we can be super mom. And that’s ok for us, so that has to be ok for our little’s as well! Kids need a ton of direction and there is such a fine balance between correcting bad behavior (which I do a lot of) and encouraging them to be able to express their emotions in a healthy way. Being in the thick of parenting day to day it can be hard to differentiate the 2, so sometimes let others help. Let others step in and step back to see from the outside looking in!
Keep smiling at strangers. Tell others the positive things you think of them! Help others out if they seem stuck! It can really help and change someone’s day! K was a completely different kid after that moment and we had a great experience, but had Karsten not stepped in…. I don’t even want to think about it. She might have just stood at my leg and pouted the whole time.
Steph's Lifestyle 