OK, I bet this is something we can all chime in on -- what were your never-gonna-happen parenting moments that rapidly fell by the wayside?
I can give you two examples, my first and my latest. First, I never understood why parents would let their little ones wear an unsnapped onesie. I mean, how hard could it be to just finish up the diaper job and snap the sucker?! Well, that one brought me to my knees before ever leaving China with Zoe. After wrestling a diaper onto her wiggly butt, I was too worn out to care that she was wandering around with that ridiculous-looking hang-down of an unsnapped onesie! She had the diaper on so she wouldn't pee on the floor, and beyond that, who cared?!
My latest example: graphic novels. Yes, glorified comic books. Oh, how I've reacted with scorn to parents buying their kids graphic novels instead of REAL books! Now, Zoe has a complete obsession with graphic novels -- Amelia Rules, Ellie McDoodle, Smile, Amulet. . . . I can't buy 'em fast enough to keep her in reading material! (In fact, I could use some suggestions of graphic nevels appropriate for the pre-teen set).
I'm sure there are tons of other pride-goeth-before-the-fall parenting moments I'm not remembering, too. How about you? What was your first and latest parenting absolute that collapsed on you?
Adoption Initiative Conference 2022
2 years ago
10 comments:
We love graphic novels over here (Noah has since started reading manga) and at that age he was heavily into Bone. (Noah learned to read on Calvin & Hobbes!)
Fashion Kitty by Charise Mericle Harper and Baby Mouse by Jennifer L. Holm.
Harper also has a good series of chapter books called Just Grace.
The girls preschool did not snap up the onesies-- imagine your frustration times six.
My stepson likes graphic novels (Magna) and the cartoon movies. Over the years this has evolved into him also drawing his own. He even has a few in-depth art books on how to draw in this fashion. He is really pretty good! It may not be as complete a loss as it appears.
:-D
Oh yes! One of mine was "My child will NEVER talk to me that way and if he/she does, it'll only happen once." Ha! Yeah, right. I don't let my kids talk back, but kids will test. Then test again, even after they KNOW they shouldn't.
Another one: "My kid will NEVER be the one to teach a bad word to another kid." Hmph. Kids! I've been truly humbled by being a mom. Continue to be daily.
Advice for new or not-yet parents: Shut your mouth! Wish someone had told me that and I had listened. :-D
Oh yeah, so many, where to start...one silly one was that I would never let my little girl wear any animal print clothing. I thought they looked too grown up. Well, someone gave us a gift of a light pink leopard print vest over a corderoy dress. So cute! There was no turning back. Animal print every where!
I also went into China adoption being very naive and thinking how it was a benefit to not have to deal with birthparents. Oh how I wish we had her birthparents in our lives now! I've learned so much!
I somehow managed to comment as my husband...
Anyway, I thought the same thing about graphic novels, until I started to read them myself!
My 9 year old recommends: Astronaut Academy, Copper, Bone, Kid Beowulf, Mouse Guard, The Adventures of Tintin, Kit Feeny.
SpongeBob. No doubt about it. But the reasons will make you cry - it was the one, singular thing I was able to give my kid back once we brought him home from Taiwan. He had loved it there - and we used that show to transition him from Mandarin to English. True story.
Hello: Not sure about graphic novels - may not have seen them, but if its reading - can it be all bad? One of my recent items - respecting your mother - having difficulty coming down on my daughter for her new response to me - awww DUUUUDE. yes, she is only 7.
Eating in front of the TV. It's not a daily thing, but i often let them do it (more than i should) in the morning. i'm not a morning person and it shows.
Captain Underpants and SpongeBob. Enough said.
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