Welcome to POP! Parents of Preschoolers_November 2020

Welcome to POP! Parents of Preschoolers

What is POP? 

POP content is hosted here: jlshattuck.com/monthlycontent                                                              

(Password:  YouGotThis2020 -case sensitive.)

POP (Parents of Preschoolers) is a video-based, at-home curriculum grounded in Unitarian Universalism and designed for parents and caregivers of children ages 2-5. By engaging with POP videos, parents and caregivers learn to understand their child’s spiritual development, to build rituals that support this development, and to see themselves as spiritual teachers. 

Building Rituals

If you have a young child and you’ve spent any time on social media in the past few years, you’ve likely seen the meme: “Before I became a parent, I never knew how quickly you could ruin someone’s day by giving them the wrong color cup.” 

Our child’s desire for sameness or repetition (and their tendency to fall apart when that desire isn’t fulfilled) can be exasperating…but the desire is also VERY common: up to 80% of kids will exhibit a preference for sameness at some point between the ages of 2 and 5. 

Is a preschooler who’s focused on receiving the “right” cup morning after morning or wearing the same shirt again and again just being fussy and difficult? Or is there another dynamic at play? 

At POP, we believe that the desire to do things REPEATEDLY, CONSISTENTLY, and METHODICALLY, or over and over and over again, can actually be a sign that a child is ready for a new kind of “doing together”: collaboration. 

For years, our kids have been watching and absorbing every detail of our family’s life. They know that we ALWAYS drink a cup of coffee, ALWAYS feed the cat, and ALWAYS water the plants before leaving the house. Now, they’re eager to show us two things: first, that they know how our own transition rituals work, and second, that they’re ready to help us make some new ones based on the things THEY always do.

By asking to connect with us in the repetitive ways that are natural for them, our kids are laying a solid foundation over which WE can create rituals that help make transitions and separations easier. 

This month’s videos will help you gain a deeper understanding of your child’s need for sameness AND encourage you to identify when and how your child might be seeking it. You’ll also learn how to combine your child’s favorite methods of connection into a simple ritual by thinking CALM and how to write your own CALM ritual recipe.

Feel free to engage with the prompts whenever and however you’d like. On November 29th at 8:00 pm, we’ll meet live on Zoom to talk about what we’ve learned and discovered. Can’t wait to see you then!

Zoom Invite: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86060441879