A shift in your child’s perspective

I thought it might be a good opportunity to think about how our cultural norms influence the way we parent. I would like to highlight the word egocentric. We could think of this term as experiences and perceptions being viewed from oneself. For example, we ask our children “how was your day? What did you do?” Our questions prompting our children to reflect on experiences within themselves. However, these types of questions are not asked across all cultures. Where there is a cultural emphasis on others, parents question their children on their friends’ days or experiences. I find this fascinating and a practical way of building empathy in our children. I challenge you to ask your children, how their friend’s day was, or what was something positive that happened in their friend’s day. Unfortunately, for me when I tried this, it was met with silence. However, this is ok and a great space for an interesting conversation. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Enjoy your week,

Katrina Ballantyne

College Guidance Counsellor