Early Signs of Me Power in My 4-Year-Old Son

Children are empowered. They just don't know what that word means yet.

May 11, 2022

I’m now the mother of a four-year-old boy. Davidson’s birthday was on May 7th. Four years ago, I pre-labored at home for four hours before going to the hospital and embarking on 19 more hours of childbirth.

I’ve noticed one thing about my son early on: he has a lot of me power and he knows it!

Even in this young man, me power begins with a strong sense of self. By the time a child is two years old, he realizes he has a self. Studies have shown that this self-awareness helps young children learn.

Self-knowledge is the basis of me power.

Of course, the kind of knowledge of self a toddler has is typically related to their physicality, abilities, and a lot of verbal input from adults. As they grow older, toddlers begin to realize that they are separate from their parents and other caregivers. They are also learning how to communicate with others and use language to express themselves.

As children get older, they start developing more complex cognitive abilities that allow them to understand abstract concepts like time and space (for example, "Mommy will be home after work"), as well as more complex emotions like empathy and compassion for others. This development continues into adolescence when teens can think about their futures more realistically and consider the long-term consequences of decisions they make.

As adults, we continue to develop our self-concept throughout our lives through life experiences and new knowledge that we gain about ourselves or the world around us. This growth can happen quickly or over many years, depending on how much exposure we have had to different ideas or situations that challenge our current beliefs about ourselves or what we can accomplish in life. Any life-changing event (childbirth, an unexpected illness, retirement, etc.) will help speed up this process.

One of my goals as a parent is to cultivate a strong sense of self combined with a high degree of interdependence. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to best navigate the delicate balance between these two concepts. Most importantly, I am teaching myself to relinquish the idea that I can control the outcome of my intended actions. I want my sons to feel comfortable with who they are as individuals, but also understand that we are all connected as human beings on this planet. We all have something unique about us that contributes toward the greater good of humanity — no matter how small our contribution may seem at times.

I am proud of my oldest son, whose me power and independence are showing at a young age. How?

Here are some early signs of me power in my four-year-old:

He is not afraid to tell me what he wants or needs — even when it is inconvenient for me and his dad
He asserts his knowledge about orcas and can tell me how they are not a whale but a dolphin
He doesn't need constant reassurance from other people about his choices or decisions
He makes his own rules and sticks to them
He notices how people respond to him when he talks about things that interest him
He shows empathy for others and treats them kindly even if they are different from him in some way or another

I have my work cut out for me, eh?

Me Power Book Updates

LaNysha Adams, PhD @edlinguist

I'm deep in what @marieforleo calls "the messy middle" AKA revisions #amediting #amwriting

“How’s the book coming?” Everyone asks.

My response: It’s coming.

Jordan wearing Me Power merch

I feel like the little engine that could as I revise this book. I’m very proud of how far I’ve come since I started writing this book nearly two years ago, but it’s been a long journey, and there is still more work to be done before it’s ready for publication.

This week, I’ve been refining two chapters related to two of the five principles of me power: Embrace Your Barriers and Focus on Your Strengths. I have to fight the urge not to read beta reader feedback. I’m not gonna lie — I have peeked at feedback from a few of you even though I wasn’t supposed to yet.

It has been SO helpful! As I’m learning how others react to my writing, I’m able to make changes to my work based on the comments and suggestions of others. I’m so grateful to my beta reader crew.

If you would like to join the special crew as a Beta Reader, reading chapters ahead of everyone else, shaping the book, and receiving the coolest Me Power merch before it hits the market (like Jordan above), then click the button below.

If you’ve already signed up, THANK YOU!

SIGN ME UP AS A BETA READER