“Today I saw a father calmly leading his son as if he were blind. Why? The child had had his head buried in a book.” That was the incident that led one Reddit user to wonder; ‘What other examples of patience and good parenting have you seen recently?’
Patience is something that we as parents wish we had more of but, before you berate yourself into ‘being better’, relax – because one Reddit thread is making us think that maybe it’s the little things we do that makes all the difference.
When user Crashspeeder asked a parenting forum how the everyday gracious acts from parents showed how much they cared for their kids, the post flooded with heart-warming responses that proved that there are some very loved children out there.
One user joined in the conversation to add a sweet anecdote about how their father managed to keep his children entertained, even while sleeping:
“My father used to keep a pack of markers next to his bed so on weekend mornings when we would wake up and crawl in bed with him we could entertain ourselves by giving him “tattoos” while he caught up on sleep,” wrote user Adajane.
“He’d snooze away- he’s a farmer- it was a rarity, and let us draw all over his back, legs, arms, stomach. Then, when we finally covered him he’d wake up, walk to the mirror and admire all of our markings with pride.”
PHOTO: Reddit.
Velvetrose joined the conversation to say that they, along with their husband, encouraged their kid’s fascination with the simple things:
“My husband used to stop by home depot and collect the cardboard boxes that refrigerators and washing machines came in and build elaborate houses, airplanes, castles, race cars and tunnels for our kids,” said Velvetrose.
“He would take hours making these things for them…then sit and watch them play in them until they fell apart just to do it all over again.
“I found it adorable.”
Kmerfri shared one example of parenting they admired when they wrote:
“Last week, I was waiting at a car dealership while my vehicle was getting worked on and there was a mother and her daughter taking turns reading Harry Potter to each other out loud,” they wrote.
“The mother had to pause several times while her daughter explained the characters to her, even though she definitely knew it all already.”
One contributor, Phailcakez – who might do shifts at a comic book shop – said that even parents asking questions about their kid’s interests was a kindness that could go a long way.
“At work I listened to a boy excitedly talking about all the superhero action figures, who had done what, what kind of powers they had, and who was an enemy of whom,” they wrote. “The mother engaged him in the conversation, asking questions and acting surprised by what he boy said. They spent a long time with the action figures and it was nice.”
They added: “A lot of parents are like “YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS TOMMY!” and the kid is tearfully hurriedly picking out his toy like it’s a punishment instead of a reward.”
PHOTO: Reddit.
And while there were some negative responses – hey, it is Reddit we are talking about here! – Crashspeeder reiterated that this wasn’t the post for people to get shirty at the dad in their original post.
“Clearly a lot of you are of the opinion that the boy should watch where he walks and the dad shouldn’t cater to this boy’s whim,” Crashspeeder wrote. “I get it. But I didn’t post this for you.”
Adding: “I posted it for all the wonderful stories I’ve gotten below and their uplifting effects.”
And YAY to that!
Even though the original post was put up years ago the thread remains popular – probably because the uplifting content is a great go to section to visit and remind parents that you don’t have to do something out of this world incredible to be seen as extraordinary by your kids.
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