Jo's Blog

When I'd just started blogging I did a rant on honest parenting. My theory is that lots of people lie about how hard being a parent is. They declare that their children rarely fight, eat everything, never demand a biscuit or sweetie, sleep all the time and were potty trained in 2 hours! Of course, we all like to edit our lives a little. We all like to keep our reputations intact. If I had ever smacked P or K I'm not sure I would admit it at toddler group. But apart from smacking (which I haven't yet done and don't intend to) I'm prepared to admit to most of my parenting failures.

My current dilemmas include: fussy eaters, snatching girls and whining little boys.

Follow up:

Daughter has always been the bossy one. She is in charge of our family although H and I like to kid ourselves that we still have some degree of authority. But she is also in charge of her brother and currently that includes some fairly nasty behaviour. We've had a great deal of snatching, some hitting, some kicking and lots of pointing and shouting. Poor son gives in to her everytime and ends up in tears. So we are working on getting her to calm down and him to 'man up' a little. But to be honest it is so blinking tiring and very boring putting her on the step everytime she snatches, screams etc. That is the conclusion I've come to about parenting. It can be very wearing, repetitive and boring. I know why I'm prepared to persevere in getting daughter to behave; after all, I don't want her to behave like that when she is older. But is so often tempting to ignore things just to make our own lives easier.

We are facing food issues too with daughter. Lots of demands for biscuits, which we don't give in to, and then refusal to eat home cooked lunch. I know she is no different from loads of other 2 year olds and would happily live on bananas, toast, cereal and biscuits, but again I don't want to give in to the fussy fads of our little terror. However it is so very boring and wearing. The trouble is, I have to work hard not to behave like she does. Ultimately there is demanding two year old hidden under this thirty four year old exterior. I want to scream and shout and flounce and lie on the floor just like she does. Sometimes I do (as hubby will testify), but I do try to limit this behaviour to private moments. So I have to just grit my teeth, try not to shout too much and carry on being the adult.

Son is a great eater, I think he would give anything a go. Plus he isn't quite as dominant in his behaviour. But in response to his sister's bossiness he has become very whiny. Everything little thing that doesn't go his way tends to end up in tears, or at least a very annoying cry. Granny has been dealing with it by telling him how she doesn't like that nasty noise, I've been trying to ignore it but again, it gets a little wearing. ARGHHHH!

I know that this is entirely normal toddler behaviour. I know that I shouldn't complain because most of the time I love being a mummy, I know that I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to be a mummy at all. But sometimes it is just such sodding hard work. But nothing beats the cuddle with our babies last thing at night, with freshly washed hair and that lovely clean smell. They smiled at me when I told them I loved them and then blew me a kiss. Aaahh! Perhaps all is forgiven. And tomorrow is another day.