"The wildest colts make the best horses."
-Plutarch, Greek Essayist (46-120 A.D.)
"The next time your child acts like a bucking bronco, be encouraged that her spirit is strong. That’s a good thing. She will be less likely to follow the crowd or to get lost in the shuffle. Be heartened that she will make waves in this world instead of drowning in anonymity. I’m a firm believer that being strong-willed is not a bad thing. It takes a pretty strong will to make it in this world. Trust me. If you want your child to grow up and be a leader, a person of influence, you want her to be strong-willed.
That does not mean that we wink and smile when our kids misbehave. We show our children what choices they have and what choices they don’t have in this world. And we have firmly established boundaries and consequences in place for the choices that they make. But, we do our best not to take it personally when our children push back against us. Our job, after all, is not to break our child’s spirit. It is to show her how to harness it."
-Hal Runkel, LMFT, Author of ScreamFree Parenting & ScreamFree Marriage
While the quote, and the tip for the day, refer to wild colts, or broncos, I sometimes find myself referring to Mya as a wild thing. I've always said, if I had a girl, I want her to be strong willed. Yes, we argue. Yes, we're both stubborn. Yes, she tries me, and pushes the limits. Yes, there are days I want to pull my hair out, or scream at the top of my lungs.
No, I wouldn't have it any other way.
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