Wendy’s Mom Tips
Hey! Wendy here. It’s hard to believe Baby Z will be six soon. They say kids grow up too fast. This is true, most of the time. But there are those moments throughout parenthood that I’ve thought to myself, “oh my gosh would you grow up already?!” Z is getting more independent, and more challenging by the day. I certainly don’t want to discourage her independence or critical thinking skills, but I also don’t want to lose my sanity. I’ve learned a few tips to get through this phase of her life and thought I would share.
Tip #1. If you’re planning an outing with your child, be it a birthday party or just a trip to the grocery store, never, under any circumstances, tell your young child about it. At least, not until right before it’s time to go. If you do, you will hear “is it time to go yet” literally every 15 minutes until you leave, or go crazy, whichever comes first. If you do happen to break this cardinal rule of parenting, there’s hope! And her name is Alexa. Set a timer on your Alexa for the amount of time you have until it’s time to go. Then, tell your kid to ask Alexa instead of you. Trust me, you’ll save a lot of money on booze this way. And, bonus, if you have an Alexa device in your car, kiss those annoying “are we there yet”s goodbye.
Tip #2. While we’re on the topic of repeated questions, you don’t have to keep answering the same thing over and over again just because your kid asks you. And you’ll actually keep more of your sanity if you don’t. Instead of repeating yourself (because, who has the patience or time for that), say “I’ve already answered that question”. Eventually, your kid will figure out that she has to try to remember the answer before asking you, and more than half of the time (god willing), they won’t need to come to you.
Tip #3. Timers. I used to constantly have to nag Z at bedtime. To brush her teeth, get her pajamas on, pick out her book. It was a constant battle. Then I discovered the magic of the timer. I don’t know what it is about that little beauty, but when Z knows she’s on a time limit, she moves pretty darn fast. And the beauty part is that I can secretly pause the timer if I see she’s generally trying but not making a good pace. That way she doesn’t have to lose. It’s the effort that matters here, and a timer motivates her to get it done.
My childhood had some pretty decent lessons in it. My mom was really big on teaching her kids consequences, and by her fifth kid (yours, truly), she was getting pretty creative about it. Watch the video below to hear my story of the one lesson I still remember to this day.
Happy Mother’s Day!!
