I've just had one of the most challenging few days with my 14yr old hormonal step-daughter. No matter what I said, she'd contradict me or snap at me for asking annoying questions like "how much homework do you have?". Sadly, I got to the point where I snapped back. teary-eyed and asked why she was being so mean. I'm not proud of it. But I don't regret it either. It's how I was feeling in the moment (attacked) for trying to help. Over and over again. Hindsight? What I could have done differently was "lean into her"... remind her she was loved despite feeling the freshmen pressure, or not understanding her hormones, or simply just reminding her she's better than to disrespect me or treat me as she was. I could have hugged her instead of shutting down and checking out.
I'm publishing this entry with a link to an article that helped remind me that my step-daughter needs me. And I want to be there.
3 Reasons to Lean In to other people’s children…especially when they stumble
No comments:
Post a Comment