Quote: "When I Was a Child...."

"When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."
~ Pablo Picasso

What we say to our children can have such an impact, can’t it? Whether it’s positive or negative, our comments can leave a mark.

Sometimes I forget that when I am in a hurry and trying to rush my son or I’m tired and cranky and I say something that I really shouldn’t have. I’m sure all parents have messed up a little from time to time and said things to their children that they later regret or worse, the child later in life brings up a moment when something hurtful was said to them.

I remember certain hurtful things said to me when I was a child. Though I may have also heard nice things, it’s the ones that hurt that tend to be remembered the most. Is there a memory you have tucked away where a parent may have said something hurtful to you? You can still feel the sting from it, can’t you?

I think as parents we have the ability to either build up our children or tear them down. That is such a huge power to have over someone! Think about it, what we say to our children and how we treat them can literally affect the rest of their lives. Though I have joked in the past and said things like, “I have to give him something to talk about in therapy later in life.” That kind of power to me can be very scary.

I worry sometimes over things I have said to my son in the past that may make him feel sad in the future. We think when our children are very young they won’t remember, but children have amazing memories and the ones that have the most emotion tied to them, either positive or negative, are the memories they remember the most.

This quote from Picasso helps me to remember to be very careful what I say to my son and how my words can have such an impact on his entire life.

This is an enormous responsibility, one I will take more seriously now.

Picasso’s mother is a wonderful example on how a parent can encourage their children to be anything they want to be.