Friday, March 23, 2012

Guest Post - Breaking the Rules of Parenthood


Before I had my son, I had several ideas of what I was and was not going to do as a parent. I’d read online at what parents should do, and vowed that I would do these things by the book.

 It’s funny how most of my good intentions are now out the window!

Broken Rule 1: My son will not watch any television.

Truth: My kiddo’s favorite show is Sesame Street, and he watches 1-2 episodes of it on Netflix each day. Luckily, he doesn’t care about any other shows, or he’d probably be allowed to watch them too! Sometimes, it’s just nice to be able to straighten up the house or use the bathroom with him busy watching Elmo rather than being my shadow.

Broken Rule 2: My son will not eat junk food.

Truth: The kid loves cookies, especially Oreo’s. He doesn’t have them every day, of course, but every now and then, snack time isn’t too healthy. This is especially true when he visits Nana and Grandpa’s house. We do limit junk food consumption at home so he can enjoy it elsewhere without us feeling that all he eats is unhealthy food.

Broken Rule 3: I will have my son up by 8am each morning, so he doesn’t hate mornings like I always have.

Truth: In order for this to work, I have to stop hating mornings so that I will get him up! I should also learn to go to bed before midnight, so that I won’t feel like a zombie because of an early wake up time. Neither of these happens on most days, so he’s usually still asleep until he wakes up on his own (9-9:30am-ish).

Broken Rule 4: My son will always eat meals at the table, so that he learns the value of family meal time and doesn’t make a mess elsewhere.

Truth: Snack time is usually performed while watching Sesame Street, with my kiddo sitting in the living room floor, his Gyro bowl of Cherrios sitting in front of him. Sometimes I even slip and allow breakfast to be eaten in the living room. We always sit down for a family dinner though, so it’s not all bad!

Broken Rule 5: I am going to keep my house clean, even after my son is born.

Truth: That’s probably the most broken rule of them all! I didn’t think one child could do so much destruction on the living room in one day…and when I go 2-3 days without straightening up, it’s like a pig sty. I’ll take away from cleaning time to color with the boy or watch a movie with the hubby any day though…which is definitely more important than a spotless house!

Kecia Hambrick is a work at home mom and wife. She’s been married for 5 years and has a 1 year old son. She owns SouthernGirlRamblings.com, where she babbles on about parenthood, married life, getting healthy, and everything in between.

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