I hope you had a wonderful Christmas break and a fresh start to the new year. As we step into January 2025, this marks the final metaphor with elephants to usher in the new chapter ahead.
“In the high and far off times the Elephant. O Best Beloved, had no trunk. He only had a blackish, bulgy nose, as big as a boot, that he could wriggle about from side to side, but he couldn’t pick up things with it.” – Rudyard Kipling
As we step into 2025, it’s a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the whirlwind of life. While the Earth spins at 1,000 mph at the equator and orbits the Sun at an average of 67,000 mph, it’s easy to feel swept up in distractions and uncertainties, especially regarding what we or our children can or cannot do. I hope you had a joyous holiday season, filled with laughter, love, and cherished moments, ready to tackle the new year ahead!
In this fourth and final article on elephants, I want to briefly focus on a segment of a poem my teacher read to me when I was young. In Rudyard Kipling’s The Elephant’s Child, the young elephant is curious about the world around him, particularly intrigued by the river and the crocodile living there, which sparks his adventurous spirit. His parents, worried for his safety, warn him against approaching the crocodile, emphasizing the dangers and the importance of staying within their safe boundaries. Despite their admonitions, his innate curiosity drives him to explore, leading him to learn valuable lessons about resilience and self-discovery along the way.
These themes resonate deeply with the challenges we face as parents today. As we enter 2025, let’s remember that it’s a time for new beginnings and fresh perspectives. In our fast-paced world, we often battle fear while warning our children about the dangers that exist, or sometimes we shield them from harsh realities. It can be overwhelming for children to manage stress, form strong connections, and build resilience. Just as the young elephant discovered his strength by pushing through challenges, we can guide our children to do the same. Let’s take a moment, like a Google Map zooming down, to ground ourselves with six strategies (sorry, I mean six Road Maps) that we parents can integrate into our daily routines to help our children bond and manage stress.
Cultivate Curiosity: Encourage your child to ask questions, much like Kipling’s elephant, who was driven by curiosity. Create a safe space for exploration where your child can learn without fear of judgment, fostering their confidence in the process.
Create Consistent Bonding Rituals: Like elephants rely on their herd, daily rituals such as bedtime conversations or family dinners can provide stability and connection. These moments, free from distractions, allow your child to feel secure and supported.
Foster Emotional Resilience: In The Elephant’s Child, the young elephant endures ridicule but learns resilience. Teach your child that challenges are part of growth. Share your own stories of overcoming obstacles and encourage them to see setbacks as learning opportunities.
Practice Mindful Breathing: Elephants are calm creatures even in tough moments. Help your child manage stress by practicing mindful breathing. Slow, deep breaths can help them regain calm when emotions run high. Breathe for 4, hold for 4, release for 4—repeat 4 times!
Encourage Tech-Free Time: Elephants live in the moment with their herd. So stop the doom scrolling and that stupid laugh I hear on TikTok—“Booom badadabam baam baaa, weeeee booom bab da bad ba da.” Create tech-free zones in your home where your family can connect without the distractions of screens. These times can strengthen relationships and help your child feel truly seen.
Connect with Nature: Like elephants who roam the earth, spending time in nature can be calming for children. I like to walk barefoot on clean grass; apparently, it calms one’s blood pressure. So hopefully, it should give them a sense of balance and peace, helping reduce stress and reconnect with the world around them.
As we welcome the new year, let’s commit to nurturing curiosity and connection in our children, just as the young elephant navigated his world with bravery. Here’s to a hopeful and fulfilling 2025, where we can all grow, learn, and explore together!
“The elephant walked to the river and saw a strange animal in the water. “Excuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child most politely, “but have you seen a crocodile?” Then the Crocodile winked an eye, and lifted half his tail out of the water. “Come here, little one,” said the crocodile. “Why do you ask?” “I want to know” “Come closer,” said the crocodile, “because I am a crocodile.” Then the Elephant’s Child knelt down on the bank and said: “Oh I have been looking for you. Will you please tell me what you have for dinner?” “Come here, little one,” said the crocodile, “and I’ll whisper.” Then the Elephant’s Child put his head down close to the crocodile’s mouth…..”
By blending lessons from Kipling’s The Elephant’s Child with this Road Map, we can guide our children to embrace their curiosity, build resilience, and manage life’s stresses with grace. In a world that spins fast with new innovations and fake news, the bonds you create and the mindfulness you teach will become your child’s anchor, helping them to stay safe against the crocodiles of life, no matter how chaotic the world becomes.
What Road Map will you try this week to foster curiosity and resilience in your child?
Here is Part 1 from Kiplings poem which I strongly recomend you read to your child the entirety of all 9 parts.
‘In the high and far off times the Elephant. O Best Beloved, had no trunk. He only had a blackish, bulgy nose, as big as a boot, that he could wriggle about from side to side, but he couldn’t pick up things with it. But there was one Elephant- a new Elephant – an Elephant’s child- who was full of ‘satiable curiosity, and that means he asked ever so many questions. And he filled all Africa with his ‘satiable curiosities. He asked his tall aunt, the Ostrich, why his tail feathers grew so, and his tall aunt spanked him with her hard, hard claw. He asked his tall uncle, the Giraffe, what made his skin spotty, and his tall uncle spanked him with his hard, hard hoof. He asked his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus why her eyes were red and his broad aunt spanked him with her broad, broad hoof. And he asked his hairy uncle, the Baboon, why melons tasted just so, and his hairy uncle spanked him with his hairy, hairy paw. He asked questions about everything he saw, or heard, or smelt, or touched and all his uncles and his aunts spanked him. And still he was full of ‘satiable curiosity!
One fine morning this Elephant’s Child asked a new question that he had never asked before: “What does a Crocodile have for dinner?” Everybody said, “Hush!” in a loud and dretful tone, and they spanked him for a long time. By and by, he came upon a Kolokoko bird sitting in the middle of a wait-a-bit thorn-bush, and said, “My father has spanked me, and my mother has spanked me, all my aunts and uncles have spanked me for my ‘satiable curiosity, and still I want to know what a Crocodile has for dinner!” Then Kolokolo bird said, with a mournful cry, “Go to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River and find out.”
That very next morning this Elephant’s Child took a hundred pounds of bananas (the little short, red kind), and a hundred pounds of sugar-cane (the long, purple kind) and seventeen melons (the greeny-crackly kind), and said to all his dear families, “Goodbye. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.” Then he went away, eating melons and throwing the rind about, because he could not pick it up. He went from Graham’s Town to Kimberley, and from Kimberley to Khama’s Country, and from Khama’s Country he went east by north eating melons all the time, till at last he came to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River. Now you must know and understand, O Best Beloved, that till that very week, and day, and hour, and minute, this Elephant’s Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like. The first thing that he found was a Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake curled round a rock. “Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child politely, “but have you seen such a thing as a Crocodile in these promiscuous parts?” “Have I seen a Crocodile?” said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock Snake, in a voice of dretful scorn. “What will you ask me next?” “Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child, “but could you tell me what he has for dinner?”
Then the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake uncoiled himself very quickly and spanked the Elephant’s Child with his scalesome, flailsome tail. “That is odd,” said the Elephant’s Child, “because my father and my mother, and my uncle and my aunt, not to mention my other aunt and my other uncle, have all spanked me for my ‘satiable curiosity.” He said goodbye very politely to the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake, and helped to coil him up on the rock again, and went on eating melons, and throwing the rind about because he could not pick it up, till he trod on what he thought was a log of wood at the very edge of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River.
But it was really the Crocodile, O Best Beloved, and the Crocodile winked one eye. “Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child most politely, “but do you happen to have seen a Crocodile in these promiscuous parts?” Then the Crocodile winked the other eye, and lifted half his tail out of the mud, and the Elephant’s Child stepped back most politely. “Come hither, little one,” said the Crocodile. “Why do you ask such things?” “Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child most politely, “but my father has spanked me, my mother has spanked me, not to mention my tall aunt and my tall uncle, who can kick ever so hard, as well as my broad aunt and my hairy uncle, and including the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake with the scalesome, flailsome tail. I don’t want to be spanked anymore.’
As we conclude this 4-part series incorporating elephants, packed with over 37 strategies (Road Maps) aimed at supporting you as a parent. I hope that each article has provided valuable insights and tools to help foster resilience and emotional well-being in your children. I hope these resources empower you to nurture their growth and navigate challenges with greater confidence. In our next edtion we will be xploring the themes of love and acceptance, growth amid rejection,
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