I don’t know about you, but Star Wars has been something that has been a part of my life and family for a really long time! It was something that was introduced to both my husband and me from a young age by our fathers. From there it’s something we have since introduced to our sons.
I’ve come to realize that Star Wars, surprisingly, taught me some great tricks and lessons to use in parenthood.
Jedi Mind Tricks aren’t just for Jedis- Moms can use them too!
I have used my fair share of Jedi Mind tricks on my kids. I’m not even the slightest bit ashamed to admit it. My favorite one is to use them to motivate them to do something fairly important, like clean their room or do their independent reading.
Me: Hey bud, don’t forget, you need to do your reading.
Son: I don’t want to do it!
Me: Ah, that’s a shame, you are the best reader I know. It’s because you do your practice reading so well.
Son: Yeah I am! I’m going to go read so I can keep being the best reader!
I’ve learned that putting a spin on it prevents a fight and usually gets them to comply in a way that also pleases them. I’ve also used it in ways to help my son with his anxiety, as well. Simply having him come to the same self-positive opinion of himself that I have for him has helped a lot in his more anxious moments.
When in doubt, turn it into a lightsaber.
One of the best toys to give your kids is the left-over paper towel and gift wrapping tubes and watch them just go to town. It never fails that when my boys get a hold of a few, the laser “whoosh” sounds start to come out of their mouths as they begin to sword fight. I’ve been known to hide extra of these items to break out when the boys seem to have had a particularly hard day. Nothing turns a frown upside down like getting into a lightsaber battle!
All children flirt with the dark side
And some flirt more than others. It’s a perfectly normal thing to find your five-year-old casually climbing from a chair to the counter in order to reach the fruit roll-ups, at the suggestion of his 7-year-old brother, right? While sometimes we want to get angry (or laugh), I always try to take a moment to turn those into teaching moments. It’s okay that we try to toe that line between good decisions and not-so-good decisions; ultimately, we should make a good choice. Usually, my kiddos get it (though they don’t always like it).
All parents make mistakes
It’s completely inevitable. Now is it going to be on the same level as cutting your son’s hand off and then telling him after years of being M.I.A that you are his father, a la Darth Vader? Probably not. But even Anakin Skywalker managed to accept his mistakes and redeem himself in the end.
We can try to be everything for our kids, but we will make a mistake somewhere. At that moment, just realize that you can always come back and hopefully fix it.
Now, there are so many other important and vital lessons that Stars Wars can teach you about a lot of other topics (like feminism, justice, mindfulness, etc.). However, I wanted to be sure to share some of the ones I have been able to incorporate into being a mother!
May the force be with you!
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