I remember before Emmett was born and even before he was a twinkle in our eyes, I had a lot of ideas about kids. More importantly, how to properly raise kids. How they should behave, speak, eat, look, etc. Here are just a few things that I have come to realize in my almost three years of parenting.
- Kids don't always need a coat when they go outside. If they go out without one, and they get cold, they will come back inside. It's not a fight worth fighting.
- Pulling all the cushions off the couch and making them into a "big tall mountain" isn't such a bad thing. It can entertain some kids for at least 45 minutes and all you have to pick up is around 6-8 couch cuhions.
- Kids don't have to eat their dinner to survive. Even when there are no other food options until morning. They can wait.
- And, even though they know they are missing out on ice cream for dessert, sometimes they still won't eat their dinner.
- Popcorn (made with the air popper) is a perfectly acceptable breakfast. It's low in sugar, whole grain, high fiber. All the things you look for in a good cereal.
- Matching outfits are really only good for days that we interact with people other than family. And cowboy boots go with anything. Including sweat pants.
- No matter how much you train your child to have above par behavior at other people's homes, your child may in fact choose to yell "shut up!" (for the only time ever!) at you when you are standing in front of your own mother. (Really Emmett? Really?!)
- Sometimes your child will scream at the top of his lungs for the entire duration of a grocery shopping trip. At times it might be due to extenuating circumstances (he's hungry, tired, sick, etc) but sometimes he will do it just to do it. The upside is that no one wants to kidnap a screaming child.
- Kids clothing only "fits" the child for a brief period of time. It starts out just a little too big and ends up just a little too small.
- They are imitators of their parents. In good ways and bad.
- You can't make a child do something that they really really really really really don't want to do.
- They can have horrendous behavior at home, only to be angels elsewhere (Sunday school, Bible study, at Grandma's house etc.) This is actually a good thing. It means home is a safe place for them.
I'm sure there are many more lessons to be learned and I look forward to learning them. If you have any that you would like to share, please feel free!
