***and, no, I'm not talking about YOU***
Its pretty easy as a mom to suffer from the mommy guilt. You hear about kiddos who can correctly identify all their letters, can count to 100, do neato crafts and activities every. damn. day. I see blogs and think I should do that with Beanie. I used to think it a lot. I had a lot of guilt that Beanie loves to watch Spongebob. But, you know what, we do lots of fun things too. And I'm not going to beat myself up because I'm not the craftiest (or even really very crafty at all) mama in the world. Hell, I'm so sick with morning sickness right now I don't even really care that she watched 2 1/2 hours of Spongebob while I was barely awake on the couch next to her.
We paint. We go to the park. We read. We dance. We do tons of fun things and Beanie always has a blast. Could we incorporate some more, um, educational activities into her day? Sure. But, you know what, I'm not going to feel bad about what we do (or don't do) on a daily basis. I'm not going to read other people's blogs and see what they're doing and feel like less of a mom because I can't get it together enough to do all that stuff. Helll, lately I've barely been able to get it together enough to not have a counter full of dirty dishes.
So, there. I'm officially abolishing my mommy guilt. At least for today. I'm a good mom. And so are you.
Good for you. I've done the same thing - tried be that crafty, clever mom who is always teaching something, but it's just not my style, and Alex's development doesn't seem to be suffering for the lack of it. I'm still a little of awe in those who do it, but I've given up trying to be them.
ReplyDeleteRight there with ya girl! Except I've never really felt guilty LOL. I have felt like I'm lazy at times, but not really guilty because Torie is HAPPY watching Mickey Mouse. Happy.
ReplyDeleteAND - it seems to cost a lot of money. I'd rather buy a game we can play together.
ReplyDeleteYou are a great mama...sponge bob and all....
ReplyDeleteI love you! I feel the same way on a regular basis...we watch quite a bit of Batman and Teen Titans at our house right now and I always feel horrible. Scotty enjoys it and plays games while watching his shows, so I suppose I shouldn't feel too bad? He's using his imagination and seems to know what he should. At least you have the excuse of being preggers...I'm just lazy and unmotivated. Sad but true.
ReplyDeleteBrandon knows all of the spongebob episodes and even sings along with some of the songs. But I do agree with you. I want to do all the neat stuff with him, but I think he enjoys just playing and being him, no pressure added. I applaud those who can do it on a daily basis, but its just not my style.
ReplyDeleteBRAVO (brava?), Kristen!!!! I'm SOOOOO glad you wrote this post, and I'm so happy to read the preceding comments. I'm not the only one!!! I'm not a crafty mom, either. Heck, the only reason Jack knows his numbers/letters is because of those Preschool Prepco videos, not b/c I made flashcards for him. I USED to think that I would be a crafty mom, but I guess I'm not. Maybe I will be when Jack and Derek are older, and can actually sit for longer than 5 seconds and enjoy the activity. Or maybe I won't be. But, I'm inspired by your post and I will also abolish my mommy guilt. After all, I KNOW Jack has fun, that he knows he's loved, and that he's learning, even if it's not because I'm "teaching" him in the traditional sense.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, you're an awesome mama!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't feel bad that not all of us have kids that can count and say their abc's by the time they are 8 months. I'm just saying... ;)
ReplyDeleteHurrah! And you can always count on my blog being pretty much guilt-free! I think.
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