Another Beginning

We are born with a body that is almost perfect.  It is programmed so delicately and wired so precisely to take on the responsibility of thriving.  But like all good things that come our way there is a condition attached and that is knowing when to allow the body to thrive.  A baby’s first movement is an exciting process and sometimes a strenuous process.  Learning how to maneuver arms and legs and fingers and toes is an experience every one of us has encountered but some with more success than others. This is when the role of the parent is so important.  We must be able to let a child learn how to walk and talk giving them the freedom without getting in the way.  Sometimes we are too protective with a child.  Frightened that something will happen to injure the child so we get in the way of progress.

When a child hollers don’t tell him or her to be still or be quiet.  The child doesn’t know what you mean.  He or she is merely experimenting with a voice that they have just begun to hear and hearing it in many different ressonances can be so exciting.  Ever watch the face of a child while they experiment with voice.  They smile with a joy and a pride which would not be seen if we told them to be still or punished them for their loudness.   They learned in the womb how to kick and move their little bodies.  And coming out of the womb they started to watch their bodies move.  As their eyesight increased they could watch their fingers and toes wiggle.  They could feel their legs move and the muscles start to contract.  They didn’t know what happening, they just knew it was happening.

The beautiful thing is we don’t have to teach them.  They already know how.  We just have to give them the opportunity to kick and roll over and yell their little hearts out.  They calm down on their own.  They have to.  They get tired.  We all do.  But when the human being is offered the freedom to explore, our self-confidence soars.  Did you ever watch a young baby be put in warm salt water.  For them it is like returning to the womb where it was warm all the time and there was a constant freedom to learn.

There is a wonderful wellness centre in Kamloops, British Columbia where warm salt water is available for babies.  Babies can come with their mothers or fathers or both and learn to move they way they did in the womb.  It doesn’t take long for a baby to start gentle kickings while the parent holds them and praises them for the wonderful movements they are creating and what a thrill to watch them excel and gain the confidence they need to go on with their lives.   We, as parents, need to gain the strength to grow with our children.

-Liz Ekering