Lessons Learned on Tantrums
Posted by G.I. Jane
About a year or so ago I posted about how my life was nothing but a series of pre-meditated actions and routines since I had a toddler. At the time, I was still calculating my moves, reflecting on my failures and above all else trying to determine why this was becoming second nature to me. And recently it hit me: tantrums.
In the last two years, I have been in mental and physical training for tantrums. I have learned to squash my fear of her meltdowns, to recognize I am the boss and will not be embarassed of her tantrum, and to repeat the mantra “her attitude is not a reflection of my ability to parent.”
Here are my lessons learned regarding tantrums:
1. Stay calm and in control of your actions. I like to pretend I’m a prisoner of warfare and am being interrogated for my knowledge on the latest mission. [...]
Top Five Lies Said to My Toddler
Posted by G.I. Jane
I don’t even know how I got myself into these lies; they just happened. I think they appeared somewhere between trying to get through the day and knowing what’s best for my daughter. Not a good excuse, I know.
This past weekend I was consciously aware of the lies, or little fibs as I now like to think of them, that I repeatedly made. Here are my top five:
- Have one more bite and I’ll…fill in the blank with whatever sounds enticing to a kid. My toddler is going through the grazing stage and forgets to eat. Therefore, I’ll nudge her to take a bite every now and then…just so I know she’s getting some food. My “one more bite” is a lie. It’s usually three or four before I’m caught not doing what I promised.
- It’s broken. In an effort to not change the DVD every minute, or giving her my phone, or letting her wear my nice [...]
Pinterest in a box? Genius!
Posted by G.I. Jane
I won’t speak for every parent out there, but I think many moms (especially of young children) have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest. I have hundreds of thousands of ideas for everything from a complete ensemble for a getaway to Fiji to how to tile a bathroom to recipes for a five course meal and extravagant table settings for that meal.
However, I spend the majority of my spare time with Pinterest searching, evaluating and repinning. Wherein lies the rub. I don’t have time to do any of my pins! I’m too exhausted after a full day of work, taking care of my two year old (and husband for that matter), cooking, cleaning, tending to the miscellaneous items and searching all 400 of my pins to actually accomplish anything.
I came across this [...]
Even More Thankful for Her…
Posted by G.I. JaneI’m not alone with this post. I’m one of many, millions. All saying the same thing. All feeling the same thing.
Thankfulness for our children. Appreciation for their silliness and smiles and sweet voices. Newfound patience for their tantrums and mistakes. Overwhelming, overflowing love for their very existence. And, now a paralazying fear that something could happen to them at any moment.
Bloggers, journalists and just about everyone are writing about “The Newtown Effect…” and how we’re all hugging our children a bit tighter these days. I find myself overpowered by emotion for the Newtown parents and community; unable to stop the tears at work as I think of my own 2-year-old daughter.
I don’t have words of wisdom or expert advice on talking to children about violence or world events, but I do know this event will live in my heart forever and, therefore, so should the gratefulness of all [...]
Toddlers Do Not Make Good Flowergirls
Posted by G.I. Jane
I understand that having a flower girl in one’s wedding is a tradition that dates back to early Greek and Roman times (really, I’m not making this up) and is meant to scatter some type of flower or grain to represent fertility or eternal love or something…However, it seems to me, as a mother of a two year old that tradition would be better served by a young girl that will ACTUALLY walk down the aisle or ACTUALLY scatter said flowers. Not throw tantrums or refuse to move. And should that young girl not exist, then perhaps forgoing the flower girl tradition should be the next option. I’m sure the bride will still be fertile or happy in her marriage without stepping on a few wilted petals– trust me, I know.
Now, I [...]
Battling Stress
Posted by G.I. JaneAs a first time parent—side note, at what point I stop referring to myself as that I’m not clear, but I digress—I am constantly questioning, analyzing and evaluating my actions and my daughter’s behavior in some attempt to demystify this thing called parenting.
Working for an educational childcare company is somewhat of an occupational hazard. Part of my job description is to look at parent-focused topics, which then leads me to question (a.k.a. obsess over) my own parenting skills, or lack thereof.
That questioning creates anxiety for me, which I think causes some stress for my daughter or at least impacts her. This creates a never-ending cycle of frustration, stress and meltdowns…for her and me. I’m constantly over-analyzing her tantrums, her attitude, her interactions with me, only to wonder if it’s a result of something I’m doing wrong.
But what I’ve discovered is stress in children is a very real thing that needs [...]
A Parenting Lesson from All Dogs Go to Heaven
Posted by G.I. JaneI recently introduced the idea of letting my daughter watch a movie on the iPad during the daily 30-minute commute to work and child care (no judgment, please). In a desperate—and cheap—attempt to find something entertaining for her, I downloaded the slightly dated movie All Dogs Go to Heaven.
And before I got motivated to download more movies, I listened to this over and over and over for two weeks straight. However, during my date night with my husband last night I couldn’t help but reference a line from the movie: “you can never go back…”
Any of you that have seen the movie, not many I’m sure, know that Charlie the dog goes to heaven and then finds a way to go back to earth. The pink poodle angel dog says multiple times to Charlie that once he goes back to earth, he can never go back to heaven.
Now my [...]
Bringing Baby to Work?
Posted by G.I. Jane
Last week there was an emergency at day care and I had to pick up my daughter unexpectedly. With it being only 11:00 a.m. I still had a ton of work to do, and honestly, felt guilty about heading out so early in the day. Knowing I’d be taking a half day of vacation anyways, I brought her back to the office to finish a few things up before heading home.My colleagues, whom I adore for this reason and many, had set up my office to be a mini playroom. It helps that I work for an educational child care company – our corporate office has lots of toys and games sent by our vendors. Dolls, bean bags, balls and markers were strategically positioned all over my office—my daughter couldn’t take [...]
I’m a Mom and I Know It
Posted by G.I. JaneEvery once in a while I find myself caught in a true parental moment and realize I’m part of the club. Sometimes it’s an unavoidable situation, such as being thrown up on in the middle of the night by a sick child, or maybe it’s a completely impetuous act. But either way, I’m forced to face the music and acknowledge that my priorities, habits and instincts now revolve around a mini-me.
My most recent moment involves an online video and Cookie Monster. There was once a time when I turned to blogs or YouTube strictly for celebrity gossip or a replay of the MTV Music Awards. Now, what catches my attention are the Sesame Street parodies on hit songs, such as Elmo’s “I’m Elmo and I Know It” or more recently, Cookie Monster’s “Share It Maybe”.
I think I can safely attribute my fascination with these videos to my recent [...]
The Playground is Scary
Posted by G.I. Jane
My husband and I took our daughter to a new recycled tire playground this past weekend and it was definitely a little overwhelming…for us, not her.I’ve been anxiously waiting a year and a half to be able to take her to playgrounds and let her frolic around, though most of her frolicking was done with me in hand since she’s still a little young for much of the equipment. I expected that; I was okay with it. What I didn’t expect was the awkward interaction between the playground parents.
I was taken aback by the lack of playground etiquette. I’m kind of new to this scene, but aren’t parents supposed reiterating manners on the playground? Like “watch out for the baby” or “wait in line for the swing” or “don’t go up [...]
