Parenting and Pivoting

Dealing with changing emotions as your kids grow up and different parenting techniques between spouses.

This week I shared on Instagram stories how my son Charlie (9 years old) didn’t make the travel soccer team. It wasn’t the first time I’ve witnessed him experience insecurity but it never gets easier watching big emotions takeover your child. As a mom to 3 boys who are all very different, I’ve mentally prepared for the type of conversations each of them needs. They all benefit from different parenting styles and it is a task that I don’t take lightly. When I started writing about this post I immediately thought about the movie Inside Out 2. How when you’re young you have two emotions - happy and sad. Slowly others enter the story: fear, anger, envy, doubt, anxiety. It’s not easy to carry the weight of these emotions for your child, especially when you look at them and still see them as 4 years old.

“Maybe this is what happens when you grow up: you feel less joy.” I hate to say that I sometimes see joy being overshadowed in my 9 year old and am buckling up for the emotions that lie ahead.