Searching for the Stars – Exploring Who Your Child Is Meant to Be

Like every mother, deciding on a name for my yet unborn child was a almost daily puzzle. Looking through books and baby names online was a confusing yet compulsive activity, at least for me, as I weighed the options. Parents look to see what the names mean. The name of the child will tell the world something about the parents … will define the child.

There are names that mean strong, brave, victorious or which represent famous people from history. Some names are from nature: Sunshine, Rain, Raven. Other children are named for family members.

Then again, many feel that a name cannot be determined until the parents actually meet the child.

Personally, I went a couple of ways. I had a few names chosen that I was still mulling over – names that would be easy to spell, that wouldn’t rhyme with anything nasty (I wanted Keifer but it rhymed with Reefer so that was out) and that would remind him of strength every time he heard his name. I had on my list Cedar, Micah, Simon, Rain and Liam. For girls I had Lily, Amelie, Rain. I decided to wait for my final decision until he was born.

Of course, he was born way too early, but fought his way to surviving and thriving quickly. So I chose, ultimately, a celtic name that meant strong; Liam(i.e. Wil liam)( the Conqueror).
But that is not the end of any child’s identity development.

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Who will they BE? That was my next question for I firmly believe that we are born with certain gifts i.e. things that come easily to us. If we are able to find these gifts early – then life may be just a little easier.

So this is where I can bring in Community Group News. It is in Community Group News that you can discover many groups and activities to enroll your child in to help him or her with identity.

Athletic? There are any number of Prince Albert Minor Sports groups: baseball, football, soccer, hockey and so on. Check those pages because with summer coming, many have workshops and summer programs . My son was watching The Karate Kid at least 1,000 times. I felt he might be interested in martial arts, and he has been excelling and enjoying TaeKwonDo for almost two years. He loves it and thinks he will do that forever.

Artistic? The Prince Albert Arts Centre and the Mann Art Gallery both have many, many youth programs that inspire and hone creativity. There are dance groups in the city and many teachers throughout the city who teach guitar, fiddle, piano and so on. M any of these groups are also listed in Community Group News and are often submitting new information. There are also many listings in our Community Services section and Classified Ads Section. Here, I will give a plug to the Freddie Pelletier Guitar Camp which brings in internationally recognized musical teachers for a variety of stringed instruments and drums.

Cultural? There are many dance groups for Irish, Scottish and Ukrainian Dance. There are powwow and jigging troupes independant and through the schools.

Does your child love animals? There are several Beef and Equine 4H Clubs in the area as well as a variety of programs in the city.

I was very fortunate to have a mother who wrote and I came from a family with a tradition of creativity. Therefore my natural gifts were easily recognized. Writing, for example, has always come easily to me and I consider it a gift that has made my life not easier but more full by allowing me to use my gift as my career – making my life pure joy.

As many of our children graduate this year and have decided on careers, many will have made these choices based on the loves they developed as children through sport, culture, recreational activities that parents put them in to encourage their interests. Many of these choices will lead youth into careers which will really define their lives.

Who will your children grow up to be? It’s a wonderful journey of exploration.