Building Strong Relationships With Our Kids
Last week, we went on an adventure. Sophie, Gemma-Rose, Andy and I travelled to a small country town in the north of our state to visit our son Callum. We spent a few days bumping along dirt roads in Callum’s truck seeing all the local sights.
We saw herds of cows, grubby sheep, an unusually huge black wallaby as well as kangaroos, wedge-tailed eagles, a couple of open cut coal mines, extraordinarily long coal trains which looked like brown snakes slithering over the countryside, recently harvested cotton fields, an enormous dripping rock which had stopped dripping, and lots of red soil and almost empty dams.
Sadly, like most of our state, the area where Callum lives is severely affected by the drought. Towns are running out of water. One town has no water at all. It’s hard when people don’t even have the basics to survive. There’s a water bottle refill station in Callum’s town. Callum told me that some people are driving into town with containers and filling them with water from this station to use for their basic needs.
We know a bit about surviving on little water. Years ago, we lived in a cottage on a property not connected to the town water. We relied on tank water which would have been okay except it hardly ever rained. Even though we were very, very careful with our water, at regular intervals, we’d hear an ominous gurgling noise in our pipes. We knew what that sound meant: we were just about out of water. It was time to ring the carrier and have some trucked in. It always felt like Christmas when we had a full tank of water. We could wash a few loads of clothes. Perhaps we could have a bath. But it wasn’t long before we had to conserve water again. How long could we make our tank of water last?
Fortunately, Callum’s house is connected to the town water supply. And although the local dams have almost dried up, water is being pumped to the town from somewhere else.
Whenever we visit Callum or he comes to see us, I always have morning coffee with my son. We enjoy some one-on-one time together. We catch up with each other’s news and share our latest thoughts and ideas. I love spending time with my favourite second son. (He tells me that I’m his favourite mother!) Callum and I share a very close relationship.
How did we build up that strong relationship? Maybe valuing Callum’s passions helped. I always take an interest in the things that are important to him. I listen to his ideas and thoughts and offer encouragement. And we have fun together. Callum and I have been on lots of crazy adventures.
In my latest podcast, Building Strong Relationships With Our Kids, I share some stories about Callum:
How I Removed an Engine from a Car
Engines, Muscles and Spending Time with Dad
My Fridge Adventure
(The first two stories are in my book Curious Unschoolers.)
In episode 156, I talk about building strong relationships with our kids by:
Taking an interest in their passions.
Spending time with them.
Being daring and adventurous parents who like to have fun.
As well, I talk about:
Self-directed learning.
Being honest.
I also share a couple of reviews for my books Curious Unschoolers and Radical Unschool Love.
(I was excited to receive my first review for Radical Unschool Love!)
Show Notes
My Unschooling Books
Curious Unschoolers: Kindle
Curious Unschoolers: paperback
Radical Unschool Love: Kindle
Radical Unschool Love: paperback
Youtube
Grinning at My Perfectionism
If you listen to my podcast, you might notice something: I used the word ‘grinned’ a lot. Yes, Callum grinned multiple times in my stories! How did I manage to use the same word over and over again without realising? I don’t know. The perfectionist in me isn’t very happy. But most of me is saying, “It doesn’t matter. Grinned is a fabulous word!”
Photos
While we were on our adventure, Callum said, “I could take you up the mountain. There’s a great view from the top. You’d get some good photos. But I have to warn you, it’s a very steep drive.”
I thought about crawling up a narrow dirt road to the top of the mountain in Callum’s truck. I thought about coming back down again. Then I said, “Okay, that sounds good!” because I’m a daring and adventurous mother. (You might know that if you’ve read Radical Unschool Love!) I’m brave enough to follow my son anywhere!
We set off for the mountain. But when we came to the steep road, there was a sign: Road Closed. So I didn’t get to the top of the mountain. I didn’t have to be brave and adventurous.
“I’ll take you to the lookout instead,” said Callum. “You’ll be able to see the whole town from there.” And that’s where I took these photos.
Sophie isn’t in the photos because she doesn’t like heights. Gemma-Rose doesn’t mind being high up. She was brave enough to sit on the fence. The ground sloped gently for a few metres before falling steeply away so I wasn’t scared that I’d lose my daughter over the lookout. Andy was hiding inside his hoodie. He was cold. Callum was grinning!
Thank you for listening to this episode
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Please feel welcome to leave a comment
You could tell me how many times I said the word ‘grin’ in this episode!
Maybe you have a water story to share.
Do you have a story about being daring and adventurous?
Or perhaps you have some other tips for building strong relationships with our kids.