Every parent on the face of the earth has received parenting advice from a well meaning loved one or a nosy stranger. There is always someone who has been there and done that. Sometimes that is a blessing and sometimes it makes you want to scream. Today I am sharing the good, the bad and the ugly of parenting advice that I have heard, read or been told directly.
When you feel angry, or feel yourself losing control, just walk away and take some time to yourself. This is great advice, but what if you are doing more walking away than engaging? Where do we draw the line with our kids? Is walking away really the best thing to teach them?For me a lot of my anxiety is expressed as anger. I find myself stuck in the fight mode, rather than the flight. This then results in emotional overload and in steps depression. It’s exhausting. It also means that anything that I am trying to say is overtaken by my anger. No one responds well to anger.
Dear first time Mum,
Your bundle of joy is here. The hormones are rushing and it dawns on you that a little person is now relying on your for their everything. It’s OK Mama, you’ve got this. Hold him close, take in his milky goodness.
Like our sleeping issues, around the age of two Mr 6 decided that most food was in fact gross and he was having no part of it. I look back at photos of him trying solids where he at almost anything put in front of him and it’s enough to make to me scream. Meal times became a struggle and a lot of the time I wondered why I even bothered cooking delicious meals. The first thing to go was the kitchen table. Mr 6 seemed to get quite distressed about being made to sit and eat. Even now he often walks around or bounces his legs while eating. The social etiquette of eating at a table just didn’t feel worth the stress it was putting on both Mr 6 and myself. He was eating more when meals were not as rigid too.
I have done a few long distance trips on buses and trains with Mr 6 over the last 6 years. The first time that he and I made the 12 hour trip from my parents place on the train, he was only a couple of months old. We’ve done that trip a few times in the mean time and most recently we travelled 8 hours to visit a friend for the school holidays. I’ve picked up a few little tips along the way to make the trip easier for everyone involved.