Tag: mistakes

Be a Corn Flake!

On By JenniferOzgurIn Health, humor, Writing2 Comments

Okay, I’ll admit this is a stretch of a “post” (sorry Kellogg’s!), but I’m inspired to write about it, so I’m silencing my inner editor and rolling with it.

It was a glorious two-hour-delay this past Tuesday, thanks to a Presidential sleet storm.  I was able to get up with my 3 1/2 year old son and enjoy breakfast with him. When I asked him what he wanted to eat, he said,

“Chicken cereal!”

WHAT???

I looked at him with what must have been a strange look on my face, because he laughed and then pointed to the kitchen counter and said again,

“Chicken cereal!”

My gaze followed the direction of his index finger, and there it was:

Hero image

(picture: http://www.kelloggs.com/en_US/kellogg-s-corn-flakes-consumer-brand.html)

Cute, right?  But there’s (yet another) metaphor I discovered in this box of cereal.

The Kellogg brothers are steeped in some pretty wild history.  Long story short, they ran a sanitarium and created food items they believed controlled certain behaviors which contributed to poor mental health.

One day, they had an error with smashed wheat and flakes were born.  They tried with corn, and the sunny yellow cereal hatched forth.

They were sold at first to their former patients.  The brothers then had a nasty legal battle, the one got the rights to the flakes, added sugar (ironically) and made Kellogg’s Corn Flakes one of the best selling cereals of all time.

Where’re the lessons to be learned?

Cereal, Bowl, Milk, Breakfast, Meal

  1. Sometimes, good things can come from a mistake.
  2. Sometimes, you have to trust your gut and go on your own.
  3. Sometimes, wanting to help people with their mental health issues has its rewards.

They’re also comparatively low in sugar and can be used in a variety of ways.

Make the #153Promise to always see the world in a different, positive light- and remind your children of this approach, as well.  What a perfect time to remind yourself of this promise at breakfast- the most important meal of the day.

So put a box of the famous “Chicken Cereal” on the kitchen counter — whether or not you actually eat them — to serve as a reminder that sometimes, life can have some unexpected pleasant surprises.

-Kisses! XxXx

 

What Kind of Mistakes Are You Willing to Stand By?

On By JenniferOzgurIn Parenting, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Drip, Milk, Pour, Liquid, FoodI’d like to build upon yesterday’s post about parenting styles.

It’s not as easy as checking one box and moving forward.  We are human beings, and we can’t be lumped into all one category- there’s bleed over from one style to another.

Similarly, there’s times in life where a person could actually benefit from an Authoritarian upbringing (military) or Permissive (artist).

And of course, we are all human, so we may try as hard as we can, but we’re bound to make mistakes.  Even the most balanced, kind-yet-firm Authoritative parent may have a short fuse one day, and snap.  They most likely will apologize to the child afterward, but what if that child’s memory bank stores THAT moment as one of the top moments in their recall?

Let’s face it: no matter how hard we try, we have to reconcile that when our kids grow up, they most likely will realize that our parenting played a crucial role in who they are.  And since nobody’s perfect, they also will most likely credit us with their shortcomings.

So the big question is: what mistakes are you willing to make?

We all know the saying, “There’s no use crying over spilt milk.”  Yes, it’s true that once a mistake is made, perseverating over the issue will not clean it up.  But first, you must acknowledge that there is a mess to clean up.  Then you grab a sponge and move forward.

Today, make the 153Promise to really take a good, long look at your children and how they are turning out.  Pay attention to how they react to a variety of circumstances and be really honest- do I stand by my kids’ behavior?  Are they are great example of my parenting so far?  Is there any “spilt milk” I need to clean up in my parenting?

Over the weekend, I plan to post about the role we play in our children’s personalities.

Kisses!  XxXx