Ritual is so important in the life of every child. They like familiar places and events and do not deal well with change (like most adults, actually). Consistency at home regarding rules, foods, schedules, care providers, etc. is extremely important to a happy, "obedient" child. Sometimes without even pre-planning, our family falls into regular routines that make us all happy.
One of these at our house is the post-bathing/showering huddle. I'm not sure when this ritual was adopted in our home or which child was the trigger, but after every bathing experience when the cleaning is over and the towels come out, our daughters become huddles. They wrap the towel around as much of their wet selves as possible, climb out of the shower or tub and find a convenient (usually very close by) spot of carpet. The child then returns to the fetal position with as much of her under the towel as possible and shivers. A huddle.
A little lump of cold, wet, small girl who then refuses to move. (-:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Heh, I was very much the sort of child who needed rituals. So much so that I continued with many of them far beyond their actual "usefulness."
My mother told me not to ever go in certain streets (my town is so small and un-busy that playing in most streets is quite harmless). One of these streets is the highway that runs through town. For obvious reasons, a mother wouldn't want her 4-year-old child in the highway. (At that age, I would go to work with her at the restaurant and play outside and stuff).
Anyway, that "don't go in the highway" thing stuck with me to where I wouldn't cross it, ride my bike along the side of it, or touch it until I finally realized that I had probably outgrown the "YOU MUST NEVER DO THIS" restrictions...at around age 15. Until then it was just so much a part of me that I didn't even realize it was an option to break that.
I guess it seems a little different from the ritual of the shivering girl under towels, but in my mind it had the same weight. (-:
Post a Comment