At the end of each year, I take some time to reflect on the year past to look at accomplishments and areas that could have been improved upon both personally and professionally. At the same time, I set goals for the year that lies ahead. As I reflected over the holidays with a great deal of gratitude for the many blessings of 2011, I began to think about a monumental year that lies ahead–one that will surely be the most profound in my life. I’m expecting my first child.—
It’s funny how we need a license to drive a car and we need to be a certain age to drink, but there is no test or age requirement to be a parent. There is no guidebook that they give you as you leave the hospital with your baby and I’ve been told that being a parent is the hardest job I will ever have, yet the most rewarding of all.
As I read a number of parenting books, talk to other parents and prepare for the arrival of Adriana Elizabeth, something that resonates is the theme of Wendy Mogul’s book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee. She writes, “Our job is to raise our children to leave us. The child’s job is to find his/her own path in life. If they stay carefully protected in the nest of the family, children will become weak and fearful or feel too comfortable to want to leave.”
Although it’s hard to envision setting free my precious little one in the world as we know it, I want to be sure she is prepared and equipped with the lessons to thrive as an independent woman. So, as I ponder my goals for the new year, as a soon-to-be parent, I remind myself of why I started socialsklz:-) and what I have learned over the last few years–that equipping children with social skills, self-confidence, interaction and communication skills, ability to solve problems, respect and empathy, is one of, if not, the most valuable skill sets a parent can grant children. And, ultimately the most important skill set I can instill as I prepare for my daughter to leave, even before she has arrived.
Faye Rogaski is the founder of socialsklz:-), which has locations on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Tribeca and Brooklyn. For more information, visit socialsklz.com.
