The story of how the world's 'right answer' isn't always the right answer for my child

Don't you ever find yourself working hard at parenting while thinking, "This must be the right way"?

Because you want to raise them properly, you don't want to make mistakes, so you try to choose methods that seem correct.

It's better to let them play outside a lot. It's better to start lessons early. It's better not to let them watch much TV.

I, too, was trying my hardest to do parenting that seemed correct.

But one day, there was an incident that made that feel a bit exhausting.

I took her outside, but she didn't seem to be having fun.

One day, I said, "The weather is nice, so let's play outside while we have the chance," and took my daughter out.

But from the start, my daughter didn't seem very interested.

Even though I tried to lift her spirits, she gradually started to fuss, and even though we were outside, she didn't seem to be having fun.

At that moment, I think I was thinking somewhere, "We're finally outside," and "Playing outside should be better."

My child was a child who liked playing at home.

But when I thought about it calmly, my daughter was originally
a child who likes playing at home, wasn't she?

She is the type who is better suited to playing quietly indoors, like with blocks, crafts, or pretend play.

Even so, I prioritized the world's "right answer" I had seen somewhere that "it's better for children to play energetically outside," and perhaps I wasn't really looking at the daughter right in front of me.

The world's 'right answer' was making it hard for both parent and child.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with playing outside.

But when you force a "right answer" that doesn't suit the child by saying "this should be good," it's exhausting for the parent, and it's not fun for the child either.

At that time, I thought,
"Since she likes playing at home, I shouldn't have taken her outside."

Finding the 'right answer' that suits the child.

In parenting, rather than the world's "right answer,"
finding what suits that child
might be more important.

There are children who love playing actively outside, and
there are children who prefer playing quietly indoors.

There are children who enjoy new experiences, and
there are children who have very clear likes and dislikes.

It is not about good or bad,
it is just that child's personality.

Precisely because I want to raise them well,
I sometimes find myself swayed by how things 'should be'.

Even so,
rather than chasing society's right answers,
I want to be a mother who truly sees
the child right in front of me.