What would modelling self-care look like for the next generation? What’s going to be some of our generations’ key messages to the next, in terms of self-care?

This is what I’ve been thinking about this week and wondering what I would answer.

It’s also what regularly comes up with clients and it always fascinates me – the theme of what have they/we unconsciously adopted and are not even aware of…..

The story goes that there was a newly married couple who followed a tradition in their families of preparing a Sunday roast every week. One partner as he peeled some veg watched the other prepare the meat to go in the roasting pan, and was amazed as his partner chopped off about 8cm of meat from the end of the joint. He queried why she did that and she answered that they always did that in her family. Perhaps it cooked better. A budding chef himself, the next time he had an opportunity to speak to his Mother-in-law he brought up the roasting tradition and also asked her the same question. She answered that she didn’t know, but that they always did it like that in her family.

Next he asked his partner’s grandmother if she knew the origin of the tradition. She replied that she had no idea why her daughter and granddaughter did it, but as for herself, her oven and therefore her roasting pan was much smaller than theirs so that’s why she always chopped off the end bit of the meat!!

There is an ad around in Australia at the moment questioning ‘what are you teaching your kids about driving?’ (talk about a picture communicating 1,000 words – it has a pic of an angry father who looks like he is shouting at other drivers and a child in a booster seat in the back taking it all in like a good little student, to one day act-out in his own driving career). That and the roasting pan story really have got me thinking about what do we consciously want to model for the next generation? Am super curious what’s at the top of your list.

On a personal note: (or maybe this list is just for us to model to ourselves?!) But reeeeeaaaaaally, flossing can be soooooooo tedious…… 

This week I uncovered an interesting habit of mine, around when it IS and when it IS NOT time to play. This distinction has risen for me time and again (and the irony is I teach about play and the 8 play personality types!! – always things to learn 😉

Anyway, we had great fun play segments on our weekends as a family growing up, and one thing that was very clear to me particularly from my Dad was around when it was ok to play full-out and when it was deemed not to be ok. Interesting rules I scripted for myself around that one. So, I’m playing with that for the theme for myself, for however long I need to. I’m allowed to play J