Category Archives: children

Would You Let Your Child Wear This?

When I see a leash, I think of a dog. Or at least I used to. If you asked years ago what I thought of children on leashes, I was armed with many quips and smirks about bad/irresponsible parenting. What, these people couldn’t control their own kid? Are they so horrible that they need to stick a leash on them? How demeaning to the child!

Fast forward about five years. Our oldest daughter is starting to walk. Our son will be born in a few weeks. Leashes are looking pretty good. Maybe it is just my curiosity. I have not yet done the research on child leashes nor have I looked at them in stores. However, I am not far from such behavior. I contemplate at least sneaking a peak tomorrow when I am running my errands. Just a look-see at what is out there, and what my options are, especially when there will be two of them, a mere fifteen and a half months apart in age.

I am sure you have all seen them. They are either little harnesses strapped to the kid, or a version I have seen lately that entails a mini plush back pack with a protruding cord for the parent to hold on to. Frankly, it is the back pack version that got me thinking down this path. What could be more innocent than having your child wear a cute little back pack?

Double strollers are great, and I love the one I just received (despite my rant against such contraptions just a few months ago), but if I want a free range baby (soon to be babies), maybe a leash will help preserve my peace of mind, or at least keep my kids in one piece as they run circles around mommy at the supermarket.

How do you feel about child leashes?

Best Parenting Advice

On Father’s Day we went to the zoo and I witnessed some of the best parenting I have seen in a long time. I had not been to the zoo in several years and had forgotten how many small children can be found on the premises. One father and son came to my attention. The son was misbehaving. Granted, little boys have difficulty sitting still for any extended period of time, this kid appeared to be about six years old and should have been able to follow basic instructions. However, he chose not to. His father warned that if he did not stop jumping out of his stroller and throwing his toys and sunglasses on the ground they would leave.

I paid little attention since I had heard such threats numerous times from parents at different venues. Usually either the child stops, or the exasperated parent tries tirelessly to get the child to cooperate. I was pleasantly surprised to see this father actually take his child home. They left the zoo.

Having children I know how frustrating it can be when they decide to have an all out temper tantrum in public, and how sometimes it is just plain problematic to get up and leave. But it has to be done. If parents constantly ignore their children’s bad behavior, or worse, provide empty threats, then the kids do not learn to ever behave properly. Next time mom and dad say no, the children know they just have to push the right buttons to get what they want because mom and dad won’t follow through.

I know how inconvenient it must be to leave the zoo less than an hour after you got there, especially if you live further away. I know how annoying it is to pay for two tickets and a rented stroller only to realize you just wasted that money. But before you start letting your mind go there, realize that you did not waste that money, you spent it on a lesson that your children would not otherwise have learned. Of course ideally we would never have to dole out those types of ultimatums because our children would all be little angels, but in reality, you just taught your kid a great lesson. I am willing to bet that little boy will think twice about testing his father again.

How do you handle tantrums in public?

Missing Life Before Multiple Kids

 

 

After giving birth to my daughter I did not really miss life before kids. I still don’t. I read all the blogs about how some women miss having no children. They miss the life and freedom they used to have. I never felt any of that the first time around. I love having my daughter, and I love the way our family functions.

Now I am eight months pregnant with our son. I am already feeling a pang of things I am going to miss from before giving birth to a second child. We have a system and routine with our daughter that we have grown accustomed to and will surely change with the arrival of a new baby. This is not to say we won’t find another routine that will incorporate our newest addition, but I know this will take a while, and in the interim things will be different.

I was beginning to get used to not making baby bottles, and slowly putting away all of the baby things. Now all of our baby paraphernalia is coming back. Some of it I don’t mind, and a lot of it is very cute. What I dread is the formula and baby bottles (once I am no longer breastfeeding).
Our daughter goes to bed like clockwork for the most part, and having to sleep train another one seems very daunting. I have this idea that because our daughter was/is such a little angel we are going to get a complete hell raiser this time around to make up for it. I know this is completely irrational, but nevertheless I fear these things.

When our daughter was only a few months old she started cooperating with us on levels that would make most parents want to lynch us. This makes me feel that as a mom I am a bit spoiled now and having to deal with an unruly child may be a complete shock. But for the most part, aside from my own foolish what-ifs, I am pretty ecstatic about our newest bundle of joy making his appearance soon. Who knows, maybe lightening does strike twice.