I wrote my 8 Parenting Tips article a while back, and I just wanted to share one of those tips today called “Omen.” I borrowed this literary term to describe the exercise of narrating your child’s future. This is basically a technique that gives your child something to aim for. In other words, it gives them a direction or a path to follow, and the advantageous part of this is that you are the one leading the way.
There is no question that parental expectations can be a powerful motivator, especially in the early years. In the energy medicine system, this omen is happening all the time and can be very helpful if harnessed and used correctly.
Let’s take an example of preparing for school. This is a significant milestone around age 5. Includes the novelty of the school with its rules, order and social scene. At the same time, it implies the necessary absence of you as a parent, as your child enters the long process of being educated through the school system. By foreshadowing what will happen when your child first enters school, you can essentially prepare him or her in advance. This may take the form of statements directly to your child or to others. It can take the form of actions, such as visiting the school itself, going to the playground, or perhaps meeting with teachers or the principal. These preparatory steps are basically a harbinger to your child of what school will be like.
I often recommend that parents make statements like, “I wonder what you’re going to learn in kindergarten.” or “How many friends do you think you will make in your first month of school?” These types of statements portend the positive aspects of the scenario ahead and can make it much easier for your child to make this important adjustment.
Here are three things I want you to remember about this topic called omen:
1. The omen allows your child to get in sync with your expectations of the future.
2. This means that they have something to aspire to or a way forward.
3. The omen is best used with open, nonchalant statements and questions of the “I wonder” type.
Another very important tip is to use what I call “gossip”. If his son overhears him talking to someone else about him, his ears will surely perk up. The way energy medicine views your child, this can happen even if your child is too young to understand what he is saying. The typical scenario would be if he is on the phone with Grandma and mentions something about her son by her name. Something like “Guess how well Bobby is doing in school?” or “You should see how quickly Bobby is learning to read!” These statements directed at other people, but particularly extended family members, can be like gold.
If you use this technique, I am optimistic that you will see your child respond to new or stressful situations in a calmer and more confident manner. Therefore, consider foreshadowing as a technique you can use whenever you see an opportunity to prepare your child for the near or distant future. Give it a try and let me know what kind of results you get.