Traditional First Nations Parenting

One of my fondest memories was of my Moshum, Edward Moosomin, waking me up in the morning, "Wa-nis-ka a-say e-ya-kwa ki-si-kaw"..."Wake up, it is already late in the day", he would say every morning, even though it was still dark out, the sun was'nt even up. My Kohkum Irene was already busy cooking by the wood stove, you could hear the fire crackle, you could hear and smell the bacon and eggs, poridge and fried bannock would already be done. The table was a feast, eating by moshum and kohkum watching the sun come up. There was a quietness in the kitchen as we ate but it was so warm and comforting that I never wanted it to end.

First Nations People have been practising traditional parenting since time immemorial, with well developed and well proven techniques in parenting passed down through the Generations.
Children are the future and a happy child is a healthy child.
The First Nations Plains tribes understood that it was everyone's responsibility to assure that the child was warm and fed, happier children did not cry, this was also to make sure the child did not scare away game during a hunt or alert the enemy. Teaching children was also a communal responsibility, life skills, ceremony and song was taught through active participation with guidance from the Elders.
The daily activities began as soon as the sun was on the horizon, with morning songs, offerings and prayer,the children learned to give thanks to the Creator. After washing up in the nearby stream or lake, a grand breakfast was prepared and enjoyed by everyone in the home, there was no such thing as "sleeping in". In the warm days meals were often eaten outside in the sun, and on cold days everyone ate by the campfire in the home.
Tiny babies were precious gifts from the Creator, children were believed to be on loan and it was everyones duty to take care of this gift.