An interview with Nancy Bradshaw

Nancy shares with us rituals she created to teach her daughter values.

Morning

Each day starts off with a ritual designed to commence the day in a positive note. Nancy created for her daughter what she calls Intention Cards that list off different values such as kindness, friendship, trust, respect and generosity. Every day a new card is drawn and there is a discussion about how they can try to act out that value during the day.

Meals

Meal times always start off with a blessing for the people and expression of gratitude for the food at the table.

Bedtime

Her daughter's bedtime ritual returns to a discussion of the virtue of the day. They express gratitude for their life and do a blessing. The blessing focuses on asking for good energy and positive dreams. She uses her CD Dream Child to help create a relaxing mood. Her daughter falls asleep calmly each night knowing that she is surrounded by people who love her.

Special Celebrations

Another ritual she created was having a special celebration with close friends and relatives to celebrate her daughter's transition to kindergarten. This will be the first in many celebrations to mark the stages of her daughter's life.

Nancy's examples demonstrate beautifully how we can plan and create our own rituals in our family that will teach and instill the values we want to focus on. The ritual becomes an important part of your child's life and loving memories that they will cherish.