Today, my son spoke before an audience for the first time. He is four. A week ago, he was asked to speak in Primary, our church's Sunday School for kids, for a minute or so on the topic "The scriptures teach me how to pray".
I felt strongly that this was an important opportunity for him. I grew up giving little talks like this in Primary myself and it was a very valuable experience. I have never forgot a comment made by a gentleman in my ward (congregation) growing up—he said that the Mormon kids had an advantage in high school because since they're little, they're given opportunities to speak in front of others. This got me thinking about how in my Oregon high school, the Mormon kids were a minority but it didn't always feel that way because we were the leaders in theatre, music, and student government. It seemed easier for us to participate in this sort of stuff. And just recently, a very respected colleague who works at the high school where I teach was asked to give a speech at graduation. He told me how nervous he was. That seemed strange to me because it would be no big deal for me to speak at graduation. I feel I owe that strength in part to all the talks I gave in Primary growing up.
So, I felt strongly about helping my son prepare to give his talk. It would be the beginning of many experiences that would help him develop confidence in his ability to speak in front of groups and generally do hard things. I also wanted him to be able to speak as much as possible from his own heart, not just say something I wanted him to say but didn't know how to best help a four year old prepare to do so. I did the best I could.
This morning, I got up with Stephen. He ate a cupcake (from the Cocoa Bean -- it's this magical cupcake shop that has become somewhat of a staple in our household) while I showed him prints from a collection of scripture story illustrations that we own. As we reviewed each print, I talked with him about the story it represented. I surprised myself by realizing that almost every story was, in one way or another, about a person who prayed—either someone who had a problem and overcame it through prayer or someone who was able to do something important because of their lifetime foundation of prayer. I told story after story, looking for the one that he would personally latch onto.
He latched onto the one picture that wasn't so much about prayer: the picture of a bunch of animals meant to represent the Creation. It's sort of a silly picture (you can see it to the right -- there's a bunch of stereotypical zoo animals hanging out together in Paradise and the best part is the blue whale stuffed uncomfortably into the lake). But this silly picture is important to our family: before Stephen could say many words, he loved to stare at this picture and imitate us as we made the sounds of each animal.
So, it was decided that we would use the silly but sentimental animal picture to teach about how "the scriptures teach me how to pray". We decided that I would stand up there with him and give him prompts to know what to say. We'd talk about how the scriptures tell how God created all the animals and so the scriptures help us know to give thanks for the animals when we pray. This seemed satisfactory to Stephen and actually felt quite meaningful to me because I've been feeling recently the need to express greater gratitude in my own prayers.
Then, it came time to get ready to go to church. It was a mess. Stephen decided to rebel against leaving the house today. It was quite the struggle. There were many tears, angry words, time out's, and even, regretfully, a couple of spankings (something that happens very rarely in our house but that's the subject matter of another blog post). I almost gave up a few times but decided to keep at it because I wanted so badly for Stephen to have this formative speaking experience. Finally, we got out the door and Stephen made it to church (howbeit without shoes ... oh well). I think Stephen might have been resisting going today because he was nervous about speaking. I was not about to have him set a precedent of running away from new or hard things (I think pretty overdramatically about things at times ... actually a lot of times).
We made it to church and survived the first hour and then it was time for Primary. Our whole family went to support Stephen. It felt pretty special to all be there for that moment. It was interesting to watch the differences between my two children: Stephen who is four and all about action and speed and movement never really sits still. He was constantly moving in his chair. Charlotte, who is seventeen months and all about doing what's expected, came in and, even though she is too young for Primary, was very happy to sit quietly (which she quickly perceived to be the social norm in this scenario).
Then came the time for Stephen to speak. I went to get him from his chair and he freaked out. He would not let go of his seat. But I was determined for him to have the magical formative experience I believed so much in. So, I picked him up, chair and all, and took him to the podium. I suppose there was room to be embarrassed that my son and his chair were being carried to the podium ... I imagine my wife Jamie was feeling quite ashamed ... but I didn't care because I was determined to realize the ideal I had for my son. I stood him up there and something clicked. Stephen saw the microphone at the podium and dropped the chair. He really likes machines and tools and he also likes attention from people so I don't know if it was the opportunity to use the microphone or the fact that everyone was watching him that made him suddenly enjoy the experience but he was happy to be there.
He held up his picture and I gave him prompts. He delivered the planned message. Then I told him to go ahead and say what animals in the picture we can be grateful for and he listed every single creature on the illustration. It took kind of a long time: "Walrus, tiger, bird, little birds, monkey, giraffe, bear, deer, zebra, whale ... what's that? ... oh right ... lion, and fox. InthenameofJesusChrist [he tends to mesh that part into one word]. Amen." People chuckled.
Then we walked back to where he was sitting, I put his chair back, he sat down, and it was done. In the end, I ask myself if I was right to feel like this mattered so much. If he hadn't spoken today—say if I'd let him choose not to do it when he didn't want to go to church or when he grappled with the chair—would it really have been that bad? I don't know. It raises all sorts of questions about the value of letting children choose vs. the power of pushing them to do things they don't want to do so they can grow. I think it's good to push them more (read, "make decisions for them") when they're younger so they form good habits, realize how much they can do, and have formative experiences. And then, as they get older, gradually let them choose more and more as they grow so that they can have the formative experience of making their own decisions and seeing the consequences that come from it.
But what do I know? I'm just a young dad making this up as I go. But I do know this: I'm awfully proud of my son. He has his first public speaking engagement at four! I think we'll make a treat and celebrate.
Awesome post! It's crazy to think about experiences we remember as kids and see our kids start to have the same things. We definitely hope they get the same things out of them, but it's mostly about giving them the chance. (And I loved your commentary about the picture!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Brandon! I had fun writing that commentary. Being snarky is one of the great pleasures of life. May we always use it for good and not evil. I like what you say about the importance of giving them a chance. That rings true to me. We cannot force anyone so if we go through life expecting to effect changes in those around us, we are likely to experience a lot of dissapointment and engender a lot of resentment. Things will likely go much better if we simply seek to give people opportunities that they can take advantage of if they choose.
DeleteJosh, this was awful. That sounds extremely traumatizing. From what i've learned growing up in the mormon religion I remember that Jesus' plan gave us the freedom of agency and to make our own choices. So really, you were the devil in this situation! - Ned
ReplyDeleteThe idea that you find the need to force your ideology down your child's throat, is the primary reason that people find the need to avoid the LDS religion. I'm happy that you feel confident in your children, however don't you think your child should have some form of a say on what he does? - Parker
Wow! It was weird to get the email notification that you guys had commented and remember that I have this blog. I need to update it more.
DeleteI really appreciate you guys taking the time to read and comment and helping me to reflect on my own choices and perspectives. It is so good to have our viewpoints and actions questioned so we can make sure we are on the right track and what not.
After reading your comments, I went and reread the post your responded to and realize that there are lots of lines in there that do sound pretty traumatizing even though they didn't feel nearly so traumatizing to myself (or my son, I think ... although I know that many parents simply don't realize what's really happening in their children's lives—I hope that isn't me in this instance), they sound pretty traumatizing the way I described them. My primary purposes when writing this were to philosophize for a bit while also making people laugh. In the hopes of garnering laughs, I over-dramatized the scenario a bit and described things in a way that was supposed to be a bit self-deprecating.
I really appreciate what you said about agency, Ned. I feel very strongly about that. I know that most Mormon kids who get baptized at eight really don't, later in life, feel like they really chose to do so. I am an exception. I very much chose to be baptized. My mom had incredible faith in the ability of little children to be mature and make decisions. I was deathly afraid of water and so did not want to be baptized. My mom taught me when she felt was true and right (that being baptized is good) but she did not force me all. She taught and then left the choice to me. At eight, I thought a lot about it and, in the end, decided that I did want to be baptized. That was a hard decision and a big sacrifice for eight-year-old me but I am very grateful it went down as it did for the following reason: (see next post)
The next morning, after my baptism, my parents asked me if I felt "pure". I had no idea what "pure" meant but I did own a "pier" police lego set that I really loved but couldn't figure out what being "pier" had anything to do with baptism (they both involve water?). I asked them for more clarification and they explained the idea of being pure from sin. I had a moment of introspection. I looked deep inside myself and had a very special spiritual experience related to Christ and sanctification and what not. It is an experience I deeply treasure and which I have continued to learn more from as I have thought about it at different points in my life. I do not think I could have had that experience if I hadn't chosen to make the sacrifice of being baptized in spite of my fear of water. So, I do very much believe strongly (probably more strongly than many other practicing Mormons) in the importance of letting children choose things. And, if you meet my kids, you will see that they are very vibrant and happy people. I feel that is, in part, because of the choices we try to give them and the way we focus, in our family, on the importance of being obedient to God not because of duty but because of love. That is a big deal to us.
DeleteHaving said that, I also feel (and I may totally be wrong) that it is very important to expand the amount of choice children are given as they get older. The kinds of choices I will allow my children to make when they are teenagers are very different than the choices I allow them to make now when they are two and five. They do not yet have enough cognitive tools and experience to just do whatever they want. I have seen the fruits of children who are raised without any sort of rules or discipline and it is not a good thing. I really do believe pretty strongly in this idea.
Also, there are times when people have pushed me to do things that I really didn't want to do at the time and I am grateful they did so. For example, when I was around 11, I didn't like bathing. I was old enough that I really did need to bathe everyday but I didn't want to. I preferred to stink. This was not good for my social life but I didn't care. One day, my dad insisted to me that I needed to take a shower. I told him no. He kept pestering me about it. I kept refusing. Finally, he turned on the shower and just put me in it with all my clothes on. My whole family, including myself, laugh about it now. I am grateful my dad did that. I don't remember really ever struggling with not wanting to bathe after that and that is a good thing. (Again ... continued in next post)
Granted, to another person, that could have been a traumatizing experience. Another person might be meeting with a therapist as an adult and talking about that time when they were abused by their parents and put in the shower with all their clothes on. This is why I wrote what I did in the last paragraph of my post about not knowing if I made the right choice and about making it up as I go. Every person is the different and so the right way to raise every person is different. What is interpreted as love in one culture or by one individual can be seen as abuse by another. So, how do we know what's right? I guess we just have to follow our gut (and within my belief system, I feel there are spiritual helps available that I try to draw upon to tailor my parenting to each situation and child and age).
DeleteOne thing that is also important to consider is that this experience of being forced into the shower was not a regular thing in my interactions with my dad. My dad is a very loving guy. I have all sorts of positive memories with him. I feel that my son and I are also building that sort of relationship, hopefully even more-so than as was the case with my dad.
Does that all make sense? I may be rambling too much and may have gotten off topic. I am curious to know what experiences you guys have had in relation to all this stuff. You obviously have strong opinions about all of this and I believe strongly in the power of people to become better by sharing experiences and opinions and viewpoints with each other. There is so much we can all learn from each other. What experiences have lead you to feel the way you do about all of this?
So now that I've found your blog, I started reading some older posts . ..it took me a while to realize they're a few years old. But, I especially loved this story about Stephen! (And I may or may not have laughed aloud at the way you described the whale stuffed into the little pond). He must have gotten over some of his fear of public speaking because he would often bear is testimony in church. And I always liked hearing his because they were real, sincere experiences when he had felt the Spirit. Way to be, Stephen! And way to be, you two, for raising such fine kids (who we all still miss!)
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