@shaquita.k: Who knew!!!! 🥹📣 When Beautiful initially told us she wanted to try out for cheer, I just KNEW she’d do amazing! But before I got too excited, I prayed about a conversation I felt like I needed to have with her. Because here’s the thing… I was a cheerleader. Her sister was a cheerleader. And I never wanted Beautiful to feel like cheerleading was something she should do simply because we did it. I even prayed about whether I should ask her at all, because all children are different, and sometimes even a well-intentioned question can plant a thought that wasn’t there before. Ultimately, I decided to ask her: “Do you want to do this because YOU genuinely want to, or because you think it’s something I’d want you to do?” Because if her answer had been anything other than, “I want to do this for me,” I was prepared to reassure her that she NEVER has to choose something that doesn’t genuinely make her happy just to make Mom happy. She told me she wanted to cheer because SHE wanted to, and because she loved doing stunts.😮‍💨 That was all I needed to hear. And after that conversation, I promised myself I’d never ask her again. I believed her the first time, and from that point forward, my job was simply to SUPPORT HER. I think one of the hardest parts of parenting is recognizing the difference between guiding our children and unintentionally influencing them to become who WE think they should be. Our children deserve the space to discover what THEY like, what THEY want, what THEY’RE good at, and even what they decide isn’t for them, without worrying about disappointing us. And sometimes that requires us as parents to check OURSELVES first. So I’m curious, parents: How do you make sure you’re guiding your children without unintentionally choosing their path for them? Cheers to an AMAZING season, Beautiful Brown!📣

Shaquita.K

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Thursday 03 September 2026 01:21:30 GMT