I first read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird when I was about 14. It left an indelible mark on me. Some books just do that. They stay with you and come to mind again and again throughout your life. Even at 14 I was acutely aware of the way Atticus parented his children. Calm, quiet and above all, respectful. It’s this element of the book that resonates at this point in my own life.
It can be hard sometimes to empathise with a four and a five year old. It can be hard to slow life down to their pace and make the time to really listen. When bigger things get in the way, like having to get somewhere by a certain time, or the fact that it’s cold outside and a fairy dress just won’t cut it, it’s easy to snap and get cross and before you know it the tears are flowing.
It’s times like this that Atticus Finch comes to mind and I try to remember what it was like to be four or five and something was really important to me. I try to get inside my children’s skin.
“If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird).
When I walk around in my children’s skin I can see how important it is that doggy is properly dressed before we go out, that today is actually a blue hat day and the label on those tights is really scratchy. I can see that the drawing just won’t be the same if it’s finished later, that the cracker needs a little bit of cheese and the message to daddy has to be sent now, not when we get there.
I give myself the luxury of time to finish stuff I think is important and I give myself the room to make my own choices and decisions. My children aren’t that different. They are just a bit smaller.
If you haven’t read To Kill a Mockingbird I would add it to your list. And let me know if any books have had this kind of impact on your life.
I love this book. It also left a mark on me. The way Atticus parents it’s the same he serves his profession, it’s a reflection of his life.
http://simplesavvy.wordpress.com/ SavvyChristine
I feel this way about “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” although I read it when I was 25 and not in my teens. She captures the feeling of being a child so perfectly.
On the other end of the spectrum, the last four Little House books helped me understand what it’s like to grow up when I was young. There are some racist parts in those books, though, so if you’re reading them with your children, it might be worthwhile to have a discussion plan prepared for those scenes.
Anonymous
I haven’t read “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” but I’ll add it to my reading list. We haven’t got on to the Little House books yet as a family. My girls are just starting to enjoy a longer story that gets read a chapter a night. And we discuss pretty much anything and everything, I guess partly because we home school, so a chat about racism isn’t something we’d avoid!
Anonymous
Agreed. He is a remarkable character. I just love the film too. It actually really does the book justice. Have you seen it?
Skin
I first read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird when I was about 14. It left an indelible mark on me. Some books just do that. They stay with you and come to mind again and again throughout your life. Even at 14 I was acutely aware of the way Atticus parented his children. Calm, quiet and above all, respectful. It’s this element of the book that resonates at this point in my own life.
It can be hard sometimes to empathise with a four and a five year old. It can be hard to slow life down to their pace and make the time to really listen. When bigger things get in the way, like having to get somewhere by a certain time, or the fact that it’s cold outside and a fairy dress just won’t cut it, it’s easy to snap and get cross and before you know it the tears are flowing.
It’s times like this that Atticus Finch comes to mind and I try to remember what it was like to be four or five and something was really important to me. I try to get inside my children’s skin.
When I walk around in my children’s skin I can see how important it is that doggy is properly dressed before we go out, that today is actually a blue hat day and the label on those tights is really scratchy. I can see that the drawing just won’t be the same if it’s finished later, that the cracker needs a little bit of cheese and the message to daddy has to be sent now, not when we get there.
I give myself the luxury of time to finish stuff I think is important and I give myself the room to make my own choices and decisions. My children aren’t that different. They are just a bit smaller.
If you haven’t read To Kill a Mockingbird I would add it to your list. And let me know if any books have had this kind of impact on your life.