Do you have an “easy kid”?
I hate to use that phrase, and yet there’s truth to it. You know the one I’m talking about: Pleasant. Easygoing. Content. Not demanding. Maybe a little on the quiet side. We enjoy them—especially if they are surrounded by more demanding siblings—but sometimes they get pushed aside by the other kids. We don’t mean to let it happen, of course—it’s just that the other kids take up so much space, and the “easy kids” seem happy to give it to them.
I usually put all of our kids to bed at the same time, but the other night it ended up going in stages, one kid at a time. So I got to give my “easy kid” some extra attention at bedtime. I was reminded of how much he enjoys—and needs—those moments alone in the spotlight. (And I enjoy times alone with him, too!) He may not push his way forward, clamoring for my attention the way his sisters do, and yet he’s back there, quietly being pleasant but still needing his mom in his own humble way.
That night was a good reminder for me: Don’t let the loud, insistent kids drown out the quiet, easygoing ones. Because they all need attention, they all need to be heard, and they all need doting and snuggling and time of their very own. Let’s not take our “easy kids” for granted.
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