Stuff I Wasn't Going to Do When I Had Kids
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We've all had them. You know what I mean...those things we were NEVER going to do or allow our kids to do – before we had kids. We all start out with the best of intentions but let's face it, as wonderful as our little darlings are, they are a lot of hard work! I feel like I do pretty well most of the time at staying patient and not getting (too) lazy, but is that every single day at our house? Haha, no. Who's with me?
- Let them watch TV
I was totally not going to let my kids watch TV. Maybe not ever, but especially not during the toddler years. In fact, I'm pretty sure I proudly told a number of people this when my oldest baby. I also have vague memories of sitting on the living room floor with him when he was 1, begging: “please, pleeeease, sit here and watch Pooh while I eat dinner! Please!” When the second baby came along and that first one was now 3 and screen-obsessed? Fuggetaboutit. (Don't worry, I'm trying to wean him off a little.)
2. Let them live without making all those cool looking sensory activity stations on Pinterest for them
I don't know about your kid, but I know what happens when I give mine cups of water or a box full of [insert dry food product] indoors. I've also gotten a chuckle out of seeing that one pin going around the internets – you know the one, where there's a roll of paper attached to the wall for the baby to color on? That couldn't possibly go wrong.
3. Let them be bored – no, they're going to do lots of parent-led educational activities like art and science projects
- Time spent on Pinterest picking out, pinning and making lists of activities: 6 hours
- Time spent buying and setting up activities: 4 hours
- Time spent cleaning up after the activities: 1 ½ hours (double if any of it got on the couch or ground into the carpet)
- Time child actually spent doing the activity: 5 minutes
4. Always stay perfectly calm and unruffled, never ever losing my cool in the face of any behavior or disaster
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
5. Let them eat any food that wasn't homemade and organic
I think this one really started to fly out the window when I got pregnant with my second and couldn't do a lot of shopping and cooking. We've got to eat something, even if it can't always be sustainably-harvested gluten-free non-GMO organically-grown gourmet spreads, and I refused to feel guilty for choosing the extra rest I needed.
Having kids has had me falling off my high horse more than once. Parenting humbles you. I'm thankful every day for my kids and the awesome connection I have with them, but I also know how to take care of my own needs so I don't burn out, and sometimes that means letting them watch an extra movie or having pizza for dinner. If you don't have kids yet and think you'll never let any of this happen, well...I won't say I told you so, because that would just be mean. ;)
Source: New feed