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| I'm too cute to be stinky. |
Took the kiddos on an outing today. Met up with some friends at the Austin Science and Nature Center. Really cool place. And it's donation based, so affordable too. Today I found myself thinking, "Where did I go wrong with my kids?". Not so much my older one, but my younger son. I'm considering renting a habitat at the Nature Center. Maybe right next to the wild cats. I think he'd fit right in!!!!
It's really hard not to compare yourself to other parents, or your children to other kids. Most of the time I find myself making excuses for my kids' behavior...an off day or an unfamiliar setting. But with my younger one it's pretty darn constant. He fusses. He cries. He clings. New day...he fusses...he cries...he clings.
Here's where I may have gone wrong:
1) Way overprotective when he was young. Minimized outings to reduce exposure to germs. Well, now that's I've typed that I'm realizing he's simply expressing my DNA. Lovely.
2) Didn't put him in daycare. My mom lives nearby and takes care of him, which is AWESOME because she is the sweetest and most nurturing person on the face of the earth. However, refer to #1 and multiply by 200.
3) I have minimized outings in general due to my lack of patience and his persistent misbehavior. I'm realizing that this has probably only added to the problem. Sigh.
My fix-it plan:
1) Sign up for a membership at the YMCA, which offers childcare for 1.5 hours at a time. My plan is to drop him and his older sister off quickly, apologize and run in the opposite directions. Does that sound harsh? Goal - to expose him to unfamiliar environments and get him ready for daycare in the fall.
2) Continue to take him on outings, knowing that I'm going to be frequently embarrassed. What I'd really like to do is take him to a restaurant (kid friendly with lots of tolerant parents around), strap him in a high chair and not remove him from it until he finishes a reasonable amount of food. This, of course, would involve a lot of screaming and tears (him screaming and me crying).
3) Hire baby-sitters and stop relying so heavily on family. Again, increasing his exposure to new people.
4) Stop worrying that everyone thinks I'm a bad parent or that my son is feral (and should be returned to the wild).
Knowing my neurotic self I will not do all of these, but I'm really liking #1 and #2.
1 comment:
I know you did your best to portray that you did something wrong along the way...but all I see in your post is a great mother! My oldest had MANY "timeouts" sitting in random corners of restaurants. Meanwhile, other parents questioned my parenting style! However, those persistent "public timeouts" (some might call it public humiliation), it did not take long for my daughter to recognize everyone witnessing her timeouts....and finally (through embarrassment) learned that she would not run around the restaurant and she would sit and eat without throwing a tantrum. My youngest use to shreak..not scream...shreakkkkk in her high chair at restaurants. It was so bad that even my friends avoided going out to eat with me for an ENTIRE month. The good news....it all passed:) This too will pass:))
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