I think it’s so important to take some time to celebrate. One of my many favorite quotes is that “Being acknowledged for her competence helped her become moreso (1).” And that is one of my personal goals with all of the families that I serve: to help them to acknowledge their competence. I love to have a final (or almost final) session that’s just 15-30 minutes long, where we just take the time to celebrate what’s working and what impact it is having.
For example, families might say,
“My child slept through the night. We are prioritizing the sleep schedule and the pre-sleep routine”
“More play time out in the sun is helping my child to be more ready to relax in the evening and to fall asleep more independently. We’ve found that he loves bouncing, and it’s helping him to get out his energy in a way that we can keep up with.”
“The kids are now sleeping in a room together rather than co-sleeping. My husband and I are sleeping better now that they are in their own room, and it is strengthening their bond as brothers. My older son is learning to be considerate and not wake up his brother too early to play. Everyone has better quality sleep at night, better behavior and moods.”
Another one of my favorite quotes: “The critical link between play and learning—the reason we repeat something and therefore learn from it—is pleasure (2).” And that is why celebration is so important. When we feel the pleasure and we state our learnings out loud, it helps us to repeat them.
