"Mummy you need to Persevere were the words my 5 year old said to me when I told him I was too tired to go to the gym. He has used this word before a few times and the novelty of his advanced vocabulary has worn off a little but he was so accurate I felt like "why has this boy become so judgemental all of a sudden?" ?. That's kids for you, little sponges. I look at my baby and think, what are the most important life lessons I want to impart. If you asked me this 10 years ago I was ready to present my child with the commandments carved in stone at his birth, don't ask questions, no I haven't met Moses personally, lets just say he is a friend of a friend and this is a signed copy so the earlier you start to read the better for you. My plan was complete and fool proof, I thought I had this parenting thing on lock. This was until real life happened to me, adulting was hard! What is all this? New non childhood friends teaching you all kinds of lessons, office politicking, bills, credit ratings, "CEO by 25" not exactly panning out, exercising ?, grocery shopping and struggling to match my eye liner wings, were only some of the things I didn't expect from life. My plans for my son took a sharp turn, out with the commandments carved in stone (damn that was so heavy to move), in with more practical life lessons. I have narrowed these down to four broad categories. Finances Nutrition Commitment  Awareness Ok, not in that order, although I leave a copy of the "Principles of Finance" dotted around the place for him to take the hint.  Finances and Nutrition are pretty standard and self explanatory. The last two Commitment and Awareness might need a bit more digging into.  When adulthood happened to me, UNEXPECTEDLY, may I add!?, I soon realised, I had to work, like wake up first thing in the morning, ride the train for an hour or so and work for 8 hours a day then ride the train back. OUTRAGEOUS I know! like who does that right?  Well most of the population does  and it is a big commitment. A Commitment to work, business ideas, personal development, people around us, friends and family, relationships are some things that will benefit a child and I look at this as the foundation. I grew up understanding this because my mother instilled it in us. You could never get out of going to school for any reason on earth,  Me: " but mummy my appendix is handing out of my torso help! "  Mum: "get my sewing kit, hurry up you will be late for school". Me:  "MUMMY, there is a landslide outside" Mum: "Quick! Get your wellies, you can't miss your assembly".  So rather than make an excuse, I found a solution for everything before she did. I knew I was going to my swimming and tennis lessons on Saturdays without doubt, I knew I was doing dictation every evening without fail. I learnt to be committed from an early age and this has had huge benefits in my life as an adult. Now awareness. Have you come across adults that are just not aware of themselves, personal hygiene zero, manners minus 20, emotional intelligence non existent. Well it is more prevalent in today's society. Awareness of self is very important as well as awareness of your immediate environment, judging emotions, mood and pre-empting danger and ambush during meetings at work (where most predatory crimes happen but are never reported). When a child is aware, they have an advantage in life, they know exactly when to laugh at their bosses dry jokes, just at the right time and the right amounts. Awareness also teaches a child how to show empathy and present a listening ear which will ultimately allow them gain trust, likeability and sometimes power to get ahead in life.  There are many other virtues you can teach a child, kindness, equality, love, strength, believing in a higher power and sarcasm ?. But most of these are picked up by demonstration from the parents and influencers around them. Parenting is hard, there is not one way to bring up a child but there are a million ways to prepare them to be a good contribution to society. Don't let school or society raise your child, instil strong values in them that anything contrary will be questioned. I am not a fan of Donnie Trump but in an interview he revealed what he said to his children everyday since they were kids "No drinking, No drugs and no smoking" And true to that, all his kids are free from those distractions that many people fall into as adults. Speak it today. Let the parenting begin ?. About this outfit Neutrals. Not me usually but some time you have to bite the bullet and do something different. Still had to insert colour somehow by the way of shoes ? Top Next (Dinosaur old) similar here or here Skirt Top shop here (on sale so hurry) Shoes New look similar here Keep this week slayed, what is left of it.  Until next time Buttercups. Please if you have liked this article, hit share just below here ↘️ ???