Written Reflection One

by Cara Cox

          Having now gone to Step By Step two times I have been able to get to know the children a little more.  I have worked with the newborn to one year old children.  Some of them are so small and fragile.  While holding them you can hear their little heart beating and you know that with each beat they are growing up.  Even after just two weeks there were noticeable changes in the babies.  They  got bigger, grew more hair or were crawling better than they were only a couple weeks prior.  It is amazing how much one can change is such a short amount of time.  

Growing up can happen in a blink of an eye

           Being away from their children while they have to work or go to school must be very difficult for the mothers.  They must miss some of the milestones in the babies life and have to hear about them from someone else.  While the mothers are missing their children, the children are also missing their mothers.  One thing I have noticed is how attached to their mothers some of these children are.  Some of the children have a hard time letting go of their moms while they go to their meetings or small groups.  

           

            When I see the sadness in the children's faces when their mothers drop them off, it makes me realize how important it was that their mothers love them and do their best to give them a happy life.  I know that when I was little it was always scary to leave my mom and do my own thing.  But, for most of them they can handle being away from their mothers after they settle down a bit and start playing with the toys and other children.  Our job for two and a half hours every other Thursday is to give the children a enjoyable time to play and have fun.  It can be difficult to calm some of them down but once we have done this we can have fun with the children.  

           To the left is a picture of one of the little boys I help take care of at the meetings.  I love being able to spend time with these kids and hopefully they enjoy coming and spending time at Step By Step.  When we get to the church where the meetings are held we need to put all of our worries and stresses out of our minds.  We need to give the children our full attention and focus entirely on them.  We are able to be a part of their lives and watch them grow up even if we only see them twice a month.  Our job for this organization is to keep the children safe and happy while their mothers are at the meeting so they are able to have some time to themselves.  The mothers were not able to have their entire childhood, but we want to give their children a chance to have an amazing childhood and a bright future.