Hey fam, I wanted to share some Reddit shiz that I found, and found funny.
Below is a link to a post on r/parenting that made the front page today.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Parenting/comments/3q8j5l/we_really_regret_teaching_her_that_word/?ref=share&ref_source=link
It highlights a problem with parenting that Megan and I face all the time—when you laugh at something inadvertently dirty that a kid says, when you think it's funny because they don't know what it means. But, annoyingly predictably, they only understand that you laugh when they say it. So then they keep saying it, expecting a laugh, thinking, "Okay, I've found a niche into adulthood."
Makes it that much more difficult to tell them not to say it, and for them to experience anger from it. How could saying something first get a great response, like a really confidence-boosting response, and then later get a cold, chilly, angered response?
I remembered being a kid. It can suck being a kid. Nobody understands you, you don't understand them, and it seems like you're always getting yelled at, for Pete's sake! Additionally, you're endlessly jumping through hoops: get up, eat at this time, go to school, do all that you do there, come home, do homework (which new studies suggest isn't helpful for young kids, and Lucy's teacher is latching onto), have five seconds of free time, then dinner, then Zelda time with dad (I relish these times), and finally bedtime (I relish these times).
Lucy's been in first grade for a few months now, and she's taking to it well. It's not difficult like it was last year. She gets the routine. She's good. She's not happy all the time, but she's not a jerk about anything either. I feel like I've taught her that you can accept and live with bad feelings, and that you don't have to act happy if you're not, but that it's also not okay to be a jerk to people, to be mean.
Today I was irritated with my younger one for leaving papers and pencils on the floor, and we all woke up late today, so the morning was hurried. Lucy didn't want breakfast, so she just sat at the table while I got her lunch ready and helped Bibi get some cereal. I packed Lucy the same lunch I always give her and felt guilty I couldn't put better food in there for her, and that I didn't prep any food in advance for her, and that she's getting over a cold and is probably having kind of a hard time with that, and that my work schedule's been keeping me from attending her school activities, which are designed around nine-to-five-ers' schedules (plenty to feel guilty about while parenting, when you work too much and also don't have enough money).
But I don't want to be Debbie Downer on y'all, there's always a silver lining. This morning Lucy said, "Hey, where's your cup?" at the bus stop. I always bring my coffee cup, and the bus was a half hour late today, so at some point I put it up on the wall of the house's yard we were next to. Her tone of voice was playful, too. It really made me happy. This girl, who does much to make everyone around her happy, said something to me to lighten my day. I love it. I'm raising really great kids.
Below is a link to a post on r/parenting that made the front page today.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Parenting/comments/3q8j5l/we_really_regret_teaching_her_that_word/?ref=share&ref_source=link
It highlights a problem with parenting that Megan and I face all the time—when you laugh at something inadvertently dirty that a kid says, when you think it's funny because they don't know what it means. But, annoyingly predictably, they only understand that you laugh when they say it. So then they keep saying it, expecting a laugh, thinking, "Okay, I've found a niche into adulthood."
Makes it that much more difficult to tell them not to say it, and for them to experience anger from it. How could saying something first get a great response, like a really confidence-boosting response, and then later get a cold, chilly, angered response?
I remembered being a kid. It can suck being a kid. Nobody understands you, you don't understand them, and it seems like you're always getting yelled at, for Pete's sake! Additionally, you're endlessly jumping through hoops: get up, eat at this time, go to school, do all that you do there, come home, do homework (which new studies suggest isn't helpful for young kids, and Lucy's teacher is latching onto), have five seconds of free time, then dinner, then Zelda time with dad (I relish these times), and finally bedtime (I relish these times).
Lucy's been in first grade for a few months now, and she's taking to it well. It's not difficult like it was last year. She gets the routine. She's good. She's not happy all the time, but she's not a jerk about anything either. I feel like I've taught her that you can accept and live with bad feelings, and that you don't have to act happy if you're not, but that it's also not okay to be a jerk to people, to be mean.Today I was irritated with my younger one for leaving papers and pencils on the floor, and we all woke up late today, so the morning was hurried. Lucy didn't want breakfast, so she just sat at the table while I got her lunch ready and helped Bibi get some cereal. I packed Lucy the same lunch I always give her and felt guilty I couldn't put better food in there for her, and that I didn't prep any food in advance for her, and that she's getting over a cold and is probably having kind of a hard time with that, and that my work schedule's been keeping me from attending her school activities, which are designed around nine-to-five-ers' schedules (plenty to feel guilty about while parenting, when you work too much and also don't have enough money).
But I don't want to be Debbie Downer on y'all, there's always a silver lining. This morning Lucy said, "Hey, where's your cup?" at the bus stop. I always bring my coffee cup, and the bus was a half hour late today, so at some point I put it up on the wall of the house's yard we were next to. Her tone of voice was playful, too. It really made me happy. This girl, who does much to make everyone around her happy, said something to me to lighten my day. I love it. I'm raising really great kids.
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