I was looking at my search history the other day, and a great deal of it seemed to be in the format child + problem, for example:
3 year old constipated
3 year old wee hurts
toddler conjunctivitis need to see doctor
toddler ate chalk is that ok
How did our parents manage when we got sick? Did they just go to the doctor each time? Check the medical dictionary? Agree to “just chance it” (we’ve all done that). How did they know what behaviour was normal and what wasn’t? How did they know if they were being good parents?
I guess they didn’t know, and neither do we really. The web isn’t a reliable source of information as people are more likely to share the extremes (kids being sweet / kids being monsters). We just don’t know for sure if we are doing the right thing. It’s hard, but I think one thing we can do, that has to count for something, is simply to care. We wouldn’t worry so much if we didn’t care.
I know a Mom who really cares, she cares so much for her kids I think it overwhelms her sometimes. Kids can be mean; they’ll tell you to leave (and helpfully get your shoes for you), hit you, throw milk at you and yet you have to love them unconditionally. That doesn’t come easy, yet I know this Mom loves her children no matter what antics they pull.
Hello Lauren, I’m talking about you of course. I know you wrote about why Mother’s day is important to you, well this is why I it matters to me. I can thank you for all you do any time of the year, but this gives me a little reminder to think about how important you are to all of us.
I think you are a wonderful parent. I know that the kids love you, they don’t know what that means yet and possibly won’t until reach their 20′s if I’m anything to go by. So happy Mother’s Day to you, and thank you.
Now stop reading this, dinner isn’t going to cook itself.