Encouragement

Having a little boy is amazing. Even though he loves bugs, dirt and cars, that's the fun of having a boy! And also the love of sports. My son is obsessed with baseball. He plays baseball probably about 3-4 hours a day. He's had a tee for about 6 months now and he is absolutely amazing at hitting the ball off the tee. He has always had a love for baseball. The past few days he's been trying and trying to hit the ball by throwing it to himself. And yesterday, he mastered it. I seriously could not believe my eyes when I saw him throw the ball in the air and hit it. It was absolutely amazing to see the look on his face. I know he felt like he was on top of the world. But I have to stress this one subject, encouragement. The most important thing for a toddler is to feel like they are doing something good. Especially when they start knowing right from wrong. There are so many different ways to encourage your child. It doesn't matter how you show them that your proud of them, just do it. I like to use words like-

• Good Job! -it doesn't matter if they miss or they hit it a mile far, make sure you tell them they did a good job.
• Try Again- at first when he would miss hitting the ball he would freak out because he was getting frustrated and I seriously had to get down to his level (another important thing, always get on their level so your talking to them not at them.) And I had to tell him that it's okay to mess up. Everyone messes up and and everyone misses sometimes. Alls you have to do is Try Again! And from then on every time he misses I always say to Try Again. And he says it too.

And also, Just get excited, seriously-they are kids and anything and everything they do is amazing. Whether you say Yay, Awesome job or Good hit I always make a big deal when he hits the ball. Even if he only hits a piece of it. He's my son and he's the best little boy ever. I am so proud to be his Mama.