(Part 3/5 in a series on Parenthood. If you missed parts 1 and 2 you can read about why Parenthood makes me… laugh HERE and why it makes me cry HERE.)
You never know how much you do not know about parenting until you are a parent. (And news flash, your parents probably had no idea what they were doing either…) There have been several times I have questioned myself and my parenting ability/style over the past almost two years.
I have questioned how to teach Kaden to obey the word “No” while also teaching him he’s not allowed to tell me “no” even though he hears it 50 times a day. We have also learned, as a result of this issue, that it’s not fair to ask him a question if the answer is not allowed to be “no.” For example, “Kaden, do you want to go take a nap?” Kaden: “No” (sounds like “naooouuuu”) Me: “Son! Don’t you dare tell me no. You have no idea how lucky you are that you get to take a nap every day you ungrateful little”…. (awkward silence?) Kidding… Now we just say, Kaden it’s nap time, which doesn’t require a yes or no answer. However, it’s hard to resist extending bed time or forcing another bite of dinner down his throat when we tell him to do something and he cocks his head to the side and says, “No thank you Mama” (no tyoo tyoo). He plays me like a fiddle sometimes.
I have questioned how to raise a loving, well-adjusted child who doesn’t hit others even though when he’s disobedient he gets the occasional age-appropriate spanking. We do believe that if you “spare the rod, you spoil the child;” however, I do think it’s a bit confusing at this age for him (although he understands not to do whatever warranted the spanking). These days, Kaden will test the boundaries in this regard every once in a while by tapping me on the leg or some other body part and then watching for my reaction. As soon as he sees my eyebrows arch, he quickly throws out the “sah-wee mama.” And then takes out the rest of his aggressions on the dog (which we ignore). Kidding. Sort of.
I have questioned oh-so-many times whether or not to take my kids to the doctor when they aren’t feeling well. I know every mother goes through this… how long do you have to wipe a green, snotty nose before the infection has turned into something that needs antibiotics? How high does the fever have to get before you need to get to the doctor? How bad does that rash need to look before we go get it looked at? How many nights in a row do you deal with a child waking up every couple of hours before you attribute it to some medical issue that needs diagnosing other than teething? But I swear to you… every time (except once) that I have followed my “mother’s intuition” and taken Kaden to the doctor for some major fever, nasty cold, overall pain-in-the-butt demeanor, etc… the findings are: “it’s probably just a viral infection. Give him motrin or tylenol as needed and lots of TLC for the next 2-4 days. Thanks so much for your co-pay (suckers)!” And the one time I put up with the runny nose, whining, crappy sleeping, and rash around the mouth that I blamed on the changing weather, a new baby sister coming home from the hospital, daylight savings confusion, and drool from teething… turns out he had a double ear infection, strep throat, and impetigo around his mouth. Let me just tell you, when that diagnosis came out of the doctor’s mouth I wanted to crawl into a hole with my mother-of-the-year sash and die.
I have questioned how much TV is too much. If you read about this in parenting books and magazines, they’ll tell you any TV is too much and that your child needs social interaction to learn, not cartoons. And I get it… I really do. However, when I’m exhausted and have a baby attached to me or want to drink my cup of coffee in peace or can’t think of any more random games to play or can’t take one more reading of Go Dog Go (the longest, most ridiculous book in the history of kids books- No I DO NOT like your hat!!!!!)… fine, hand me the “mote” and I’ll turn on one of the 50 DVR’ed episodes of “diensteins” (Little Einsteins) or “Supah Why” if you’ll just sit down and be quiet for 20 minutes. And I may or may not allow this a couple several times a day. Especially on a rainy, cold day. Some days the TV is the only thing that keeps me from killing somebody, if we’re being totally honest. Which we are, right?
I have also questioned how to parent my child around other children who aren’t being parented in the same ways… for example, how do I teach Kaden it’s never ok to play in the street, if the kid he was playing with is allowed to? How do I teach Kaden he can’t get out of his high chair at dinner if the other kid at our table or some other table is allowed to get up? How do I teach him he has to share without making him be a pushover and letting some other kid repeatedly take toys away from him since the other parent doesn’t seem to be paying attention (or doesn’t seem to think sharing and not stealing things from others is an important lesson to learn). I know this will only get more challenging as Kaden and Molly get older and their friends have more influence on their lives than Trey and I…
Overall, I’m two years into parenthood… and honestly, on a daily basis I question how I’m doing. I don’t have a supervisor or boss who evaluates my work or critiques/praises how I’m doing (which I’m not complaining about, but still…). So much of it is just making split second decisions, following your gut, and choosing your battles…and praying your kid turns out to be a kind, hard-working, contributing member of society and not some lazy, self-centered, drug-addicted chump. Lord, help me…