If you'd like to use this space to vent or rant or tell the stories/secrets/confessions of your dangerous maternal (or paternal!) mind, send me an e-mail and you too can enjoy the refuge of the Basement...
********
-I send my kid to bed without having helped her brush her teeth. I know I'll be paying astronomical dentist bills in a matter of years, and I will kick myself then. For now, it's just not worth the battle with an almost 2-year old. Her teeth are going to fall out anyway-she'll get new ones. I promise to help her take better care of those.
-I pray for rain often. This is so that I have an excuse not to take my kid outside. Once she's outside, she's exhausting. And the temper tantrum that ensues when it's time to go inside is just so not worth it. I pray for rain so that I do not have to go through the hell that is applying sunscreen to a wriggly, impatient little body.
-When Hubby asks if I took the kid outside, I will say yes even if we stayed inside and played all day. I will even put a very light coating of sunscreen on her so she smells like she's been out in the sun. If he knew that we stayed inside and played without that much outdoor time, he'd be unhappy.
-Despite her being almost 2, I still am so insanely grossed out by her boogers. I pretend I can't get at them, so that her father will do it. He's a pro at booger collection.
-I think my kid watches too much tv. I'm not doing anything to change that, really. I figure we have Reading Time, Drawing Time, Play-Doh Time, Playtime, and Trash the House Time...it won't hurt her to be still for a little while while Mommy takes a breather.
14 comments:
I totally understand where you're coming from. I hate taking my 3yo outside too, and she watches more tv than I do. Don't worry, she'll grow up fine.
And I feel ya on the toothbrush thing too. Mine wanted the battery-operated Spongebob one, and she's terrified of it. Some battles are just not meant to be fought. : )
I'm so there with you.
Is yoiur daughter my son's twin? I hate going outside because it's so hot. He will yell and bang at the back door until I finally cave and take him out. He is a pro at the "I don't want to come inside and when I get inside, I'm going to bang my head on whatever hard surface I find and scream for at least 10 minutes, but maybe 20 or 30" tantrum. Good times.
Toothbrushing? If we're lucky, he gets a quick one in the morning. He still gets a bottle at bedtime (shhh...don't tell the pediatrician) and I'm scared of what his teeth are going to turn out like. But trying to brush he teeth at night isn't worth the battle.
TV? Let's see, the Teletubbies, Barney, Elmo, Doodlebops, Bear, and Rolie Polie Olie are his best friends.
My son is 14 months and I try to brush his teeth at night inteh tub. I take a swipe and then hand him the brush to chew on. I figure he's at least getting the toothpaste in there. It's all about picking your battles.
Oh I am SO RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. I hate taking the kids out in this heat. I do, but I hate it, and I think of ways to get us the fuck back inside, where the central air is. And I know my kid watches too much television some days, but man, when Mommy needs a break, MOMMY NEEDS A BREAK.
I'm with you on the teeth thing. Even at 2 1/2, they still just chew on the toothbrush.
Also? I tell my mom and dad that I read to my son almost every night. Not so much. Even as much as I know it benefits him, helps with language and could possibly turn him into the bookworm I can be proud of (for I'm a bookworm, too), most nights I forget completely. It's a habit I always meant to start, but I can't seem to remember to do it. And then some night? I am just too tired.
And, even though he can blow his nose, sometimes I still use my fingernail to help him out because he just doesn't blow hard enough, and damn! that not breathing thing just sounds miserable. The fingernail is much quicker.
My dentist, who knows I have a two-year-old, asked me last time I went in for a cleaning whether I was flossing my son's teeth.
FLOSSING?
FLOSSING?
It's taken me months of work just to get him to tolerate having the toothbrush in his mouth for more than ten seconds. And we only brush once a day, before he goes to bed. Without any sort of toothpaste, because he won't put up with toothpaste (although kids this young aren't really supposed to be using fluoride, anyway, so hey).
I was like, "Uh, yeah, flossing. Right! I'll get right on that . . . "
Anyway, I just wanted to point out that almost all of my generation went without getting our teeth brushed as toddlers, myself included. And I have perfect teeth. Not one cavity. So nyah, nyah, guilt-tripping dentists.
My toddler is also obsessed with going outside. I swear he has OCD sometimes. I hate going outside and I hate the sun screen wrestle. He has a tan now and I feel bad that I am not using it as often as I should be but dang it I hate putting the stuff on him.
While I insist our 11MO brushes her teeth once before bedtime (without toothpaste so far), I admit I do not read to her as often as I probably should. She doesn't sit still long enough for it!
And she watches at least 1 hour of TV per day, though not all at once. It's the only thing that will ensure I get time to use the restroom or eat a meal.
I pushed my almost 6 year old the other day because he wouldn't stop touching me. I'm not proud of it, but I just wanted a moment to be free of little hands on me and I snapped.
I apologized to him, and felt like crap for days.
Podody's Nerfect.
We all do it. But it feels nice to write it down doesn't it?
Wow, I feel the same way. I have even lied when my hubby asked if we went outside. It is a real pain.
I am so there with you! With three preschoolers reading to them is like a darn three ring circus where all the clowns are clammering to fit into the small car that is Mommy's lap. No one is happy, I can't get a sentence read without them jostling for position, hitting or kicking each other or whatever. Reading to them is really not so much fun. And getting three preschoolers ready to go outside takes FOREVER. And then we get outside and all they do is fight in the muggy heat. Not so much fun. They have more fun with Spiderman on the tube running around the house in the AC shooting webs at each other. And no one is crying. So that is what they do. I am a big fan of eliminating fights and crying with this bunch, so, yeah, they watch way too much tv too. I think a lot of us mommies do these things. Thanks for sharing your story.
BTDT! I used to get obsessed with measuring my success as a mom, day by day, based on how much time my son spent outside. Now I figure that's what grandparents are for! On a good day, I try to take him out for a walk after supper, when it's a bit cooler.
Wow. Maybe I am the worst mom of all... I don't even care if my kid goes outside... We go out when we go out and when we stay in, we stay in. I haven't given it much thought - I know that I feel good when I have taken her to the park etc. Anyway, my point is that if you are worried about how much outside time you give your kid, or how often they brush or watch TV - you are a good mom.
Post a Comment