My mom's always telling me what "the latest" is. As in, "Have you heard THE LATEST?" or "Let me tell you THE LATEST in...."
So today it's giving your kids compliments. We don't compliment our kids near enough and they really need that. So they drop in today and she proceeds to demonstrate on my 3yo boy. He's doing these half-baked cartwheels in the living room and she's going up and down and sideways about how great he is and how strong he is and how his left foot looks so great and the way he holds his right hand and his balance and he's so wonderful... on and on.... Oh, my GAWSH! It was pretty funny, cuz he was totally eating it up! If she'd turn even a smidge of attention to something or someone else, he'd yell, "Grandma! Watch my trick!" and he was very serious and this went on for about 20 minutes. She'd try to be sneaky and whisper to me or make expressions and he'd catch her divided attention and give her the business. I said, "You've created a monster." It was funny.
I used to read a lot of parenting books when my oldest was about to be born and shortly thereafter.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
I agree that children in general need more compliments. Non-stop compliments, however, no. And they should really be sincere. Kids smell baloney and will manipulate that or learn to be fake.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
I guess some folks find it easy to dump kids into the "annoying distraction" category. The parents want to be off doing their thing, and so they only notice the kids when they're doing something wrong. Since kids thrive on attention, they will do whatever gets them noticed. Whether the attention brings with it compliments or denunciations makes no difference to the kid - they just want the attention and interaction.
I do my best to give my kids honest feedback no matter what they're doing. If they do something cool, I talk about how cool it is. If they do something wrong, we handle that too. And we just have plain everyday jump on daddy time too, where nothing is really cool or uncool, just a lot of daddy making 'oof' noises.
Every single person with older kids who has talked to me about younger kids say the same thing: They'll never be this cute and cuddly ever again, so I should enjoy it while it lasts. I try hard to take that advice.
LM
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And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men, seven hours every day. That would be the sweetest thing of all.
Every single person with older kids who has talked to me about younger kids say the same thing: They'll never be this cute and cuddly ever again, so I should enjoy it while it lasts.
That's been on my mind a lot lately. I'm feeling like I'm missing some of the magical times with my youngest.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Yeah, I feel like it's going pretty fast. MrCoco's almost in a panic because he feels it's going by so fast. I'm looking forward to our summer vacation when it'll be just the family 24/7.
Lately I've also been thinking about TV and phones and gaming and all this "modern" stuff that is really cool and fun, but dang - sure cuts into the communication time with the family members. What did everyone do before all this stuff?
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
However, they need the building up even more once they're past the "cute" stage. My husband was apparently a very very cute little kid and got showered with affection and attention, until he wasn't cute and cuddly anymore. Then suddenly, everyone withdrew, even his mom :(. I say just love 'em all the time. Notice the good they do and praise them for it, but always, always show them love.
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"There is order in the way the Lord reveals His will to mankind. . .we cannot receive revelation for someone else's stewardship." L. Tom Perry
Lately I've also been thinking about TV and phones and gaming and all this "modern" stuff that is really cool and fun, but dang - sure cuts into the communication time with the family members. What did everyone do before all this stuff?
Work the farm?
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Lately I've also been thinking about TV and phones and gaming and all this "modern" stuff that is really cool and fun, but dang - sure cuts into the communication time with the family members. What did everyone do before all this stuff?
Work the farm?
Everyday was a family home evening, scripture study, games, and dessert.
-- Edited by Xanth at 12:10, 2008-06-04
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Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune--without the words And never stops at all.... --Emily Dickinson
Make that a working family home evening. We've been having those since my surgery... and my kids are just as anxious as I am for me to get better so I can do all the yardwork again.
This desert thing... are you referring to the noun or the verb?
Make that a working family home evening. We've been having those since my surgery... and my kids are just as anxious as I am for me to get better so I can do all the yardwork again.
This desert thing... are you referring to the noun or the verb?
desert to the desert for dessert
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Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune--without the words And never stops at all.... --Emily Dickinson
Every single person with older kids who has talked to me about younger kids say the same thing: They'll never be this cute and cuddly ever again, so I should enjoy it while it lasts. I try hard to take that advice I guess I must be the exception to this. It's true that my teenage boys aren't cute and cuddly anymore, but thus far this is my favorite age.
Don't get me wrong, I love my babies, but I've also enjoyed every single bit of my kids getting older. For me, the older they get, the more interesting they are.
(There's a reason why I keep getting callings where I work with the youth..... Except I just got a call from our brand-new first counselor in the Bishopric to come in and see him tonight. Crap! I really hope I'm not being released as YW advisor in our new ward reshuffle.)
In our house, it's my husband who likes them best when they're little.
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They might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves.
I am 110% in agreement with Dianoia. They're goshdang cute when they're little, but their also the most work then. I enjoy them more and more the older they get. My kids (7-16) are sooo much fun now, FHE is just a giggle fest. Listening to them laugh together and dink around on the piano amid gales of laughter makes me happier than just about anything else. And all I have to do is sit and watch.
Sometimes I wonder where my soft, feminine side is hiding. Seriously. I've got quite an impressive list of things that I do that are more traditionally "masculine". Fortunately, I've got a kind and gentle husband who compensates for my rougher edges.
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They might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves.
As much as I can know this when my oldest is 10, I like both stages. I don't want to miss any of it. (I'm eligible for being voted off the female island for not liking the newborn phase, though.)
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
I can't decide what age I like the best... little ones are definitely the most physically exhausting, but they are so cute and those big squeezes around the neck from my 1yo - wow. Then they get older and start to learn so many things, just soaking up information like a sponge... they'll come in and tell me the latest they learned on the NASA website or something... very cool. Learning to read words... getting their underwear on the right way... all these things are very cool.
Uh oh. I'm getting all hormonal now.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
I'm eligible for being voted off the female island for not liking the newborn phase, though. Amen, sister.
Although that might be due to the fact that for me there's sleep deprivation, horribly painful nursing, and hormones that get REALLY out of whack.
I get just a wee bit crazy.
I'm kind of looking forward to the enjoying-the-baby thing once I've got that celestial body. (No stitches, no stretch marks, no need for sleep. Now THAT'S heaven. )
And I've been struggling with guilt because son4 is my last, and all the older ladies tell me I should be savoring this time with him, but it's just not happening. He's cute, but he's also my most difficult baby. Picky and grumpy and not cuddly, yet also has an awful case of separation anxiety right now. It's now 2:30 in the afternoon, and I still haven't managed to blowdry my hair yet, because he yells at me every time I try.
I love my child, I love my child.....
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They might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves.
Alright, ya'll. I'll take the newborns for you. I love to sleep with them on the recliner... And I probably have enough milk to feed a few extras anyway.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Yeah, I had PPD (mostly untreated) with my first two and then my third had failure to thrive at 2 months, so it was not fun. I enjoy it when they get round smiley faces.
And I have to chant mantras sometimes, too.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
It's now 2:30 in the afternoon, and I still haven't managed to blowdry my hair yet, because he yells at me every time I try. So let him yell. You shouldn't be able to hear him over the blowdryer anyway. Maybe this is a good time to practice not caring what a certain little person thinks about you.
It's now 2:30 in the afternoon, and I still haven't managed to blowdry my hair yet, because he yells at me every time I try. So let him yell. You shouldn't be able to hear him over the blowdryer anyway. Maybe this is a good time to practice not caring what a certain little person thinks about you.
Yeppers! Who's the boss anyway?
Kids aren't dumb, they are vile manipulative little creatures that will take any advantage over you they can. Better to set those boundaries early on.
Yes, I really do love my kids :)
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Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune--without the words And never stops at all.... --Emily Dickinson
But thus far today, he's cried because I made his siblings their lunches, cried because I showered, cried because I stopped him from going outside in the rain, cried because I wouldn't let him play in the dog bowls, cried because I was helping his big sister go potty, cried because he's not sitting on my lap, cried because he is sitting on my lap, and that doesn't count the interminable times he's upset for no reason whatsoever.
Wow, he's not the only whiny one.....
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They might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves.
But thus far today, he's cried because I made his siblings their lunches, cried because I showered, cried because I stopped him from going outside in the rain, cried because I wouldn't let him play in the dog bowls, cried because I was helping his big sister go potty, cried because he's not sitting on my lap, cried because he is sitting on my lap, and that doesn't count the interminable times he's upset for no reason whatsoever.
Wow, he's not the only whiny one.....
Ear plugs and MP3 players work wonders.
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Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune--without the words And never stops at all.... --Emily Dickinson
But thus far today, he's cried because I made his siblings their lunches, cried because I showered, cried because I stopped him from going outside in the rain, cried because I wouldn't let him play in the dog bowls, cried because I was helping his big sister go potty, cried because he's not sitting on my lap, cried because he is sitting on my lap, and that doesn't count the interminable times he's upset for no reason whatsoever.
If he's gonna cry no matter what you do, then do what you need to do.
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Son4 is just over a year old. (I realized that we were talking about newborns, and then I started whining about him. Not the smoothest segue.)
And Toddlergirl is also home during the day as well.
He's probably not that bad, but I've been spoiled with independent kids up until now. With everyone else, once they were crawling I was pretty free to do stuff around the house. With him, if I'm in the room and sitting down he's content to play with his sister. But if I stand up.... he wants me to hold him. But not in a cuddly way - more like I'm his personal jungle gym.
Of course there are times when I have to let him cry or I'd get nothing done, but right now my gut is saying he just needs my attention. I'm looking at it as another opportunity to whittle away at the selfish part of my nature.
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They might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves.
It was pretty funny, cuz he was totally eating it up! If she'd turn even a smidge of attention to something or someone else, he'd yell, "Grandma! Watch my trick!" and he was very serious and this went on for about 20 minutes. She'd try to be sneaky and whisper to me or make expressions and he'd catch her divided attention and give her the business. I said, "You've created a monster." It was funny.
)
