Kid Scoop
Seriously? You’re Writing for ANOTHER Babble Blog?
Yes. Yes I am. For a few months now I have had the privilege of writing for babble over at Baby’s First Year about my baby Vivi’s first year (we’re almost to 5 months and she’s still happy about being born!) I sort of stopped talking about my older daughter, Addie, on my personal blog because she’s old enough to tell her own stories now. Well, she tells her own stories but they are hardly to be believed especially when she talks about the time/space relationship. When the opportunity came up to write for Kid’s Scoop I realized that while raising a newborn is overwhelming and exhausting in its own way…raising a grade schooler may beat out the newborn phase. Newborns have an expiration date…grade schoolers? They’re like those three random condiment bottles in the door of your fridge, they’re going to be there for a long time, even when there’s times you’re not quite sure why you keep them around.
Don’t know what to do with your baby? Fake it ’til you make it. They’re not going to be paying attention to every little inconsistency and word that springs forth from your mouth. However with a six year old around? They are going to walk in at the exact most inopportune time, pick up on swear words in movies you never even noticed before (Did you know they say asshole in Home Alone?), read text messages over your shoulder (out loud) in restaurants and let’s not even get started on the keen observation skills they have of the general public.
I never got to the chapter in my parenting book about what to do when you see the neighbor kid hold a toy gun to your kid’s face and yell “GIMME YOUR MONEY OR I’LL KILL YOU” or how to respond when they ask “Why are grandma and grandpa not married to each other?” I know she’s learning from me, and I’m trying to be a good example, I really am.
However at the same time I learn so much from this little girl whose favorite thing to do is play with her baby sister and linger for hours in the Barbie aisle.
The truth is I’m scared, and I know I can’t do this alone. I also know the struggles I experience with this strong willed offspring of mine are not all that unique. That whole village thing? It’s true. But since everyone can’t live in Indiana and I refuse to live any further North than Chicago? This ::waving arms about wildly:: is going to have to do.
So, how about you?
Go Back To Kid Scoop
7 Comments
Robby Slaughter commented on Oct 03 11 at 11:23 amPlease stop being so funny. My HMO does not cover chronic pain from smiling.
danielle @sugar blossom boutique commented on Oct 03 11 at 11:39 amit’s seriously scary when your older kids blurt out things that sound EXACTLY like me! it’s like *uhoh* what else have they been picking up on that i wasn’t aware of :/ we rented Goonies for the kids the other day…yeah, didn’t realize all the swearing until it was already ringing in my kids’ ears.
Beth commented on Oct 03 11 at 12:22 pmSo excited to have another venue to be reading your stuff in – and of course to hear more about Addie and her antics!!
Shan@ www.mandy4matt.blogspot.com commented on Oct 03 11 at 3:04 pmThe school bus…the things they hear on the school bus..that the bus driver never seems to hear….sigh. I want my children to stay innocent as long as possible…some parents don’t seem to feel the same way. It saddens me.
Michelle@Gotchababy commented on Oct 03 11 at 9:05 pmyou are so right about faking it with a newborn….what scares me about my first grader is that now she’ll start to remember things…so my answers and approach should be a reflection of what I believe. Which is sometimes really hard.
Tina commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:46 pmI have an 8 year old, 5 year old, 21 month and 7 month old. And I’ve enjoyed the babies so much more the 3rd/4th (second “season”) time around because I realized that. Yeah, the cliches are right (annoying, but really true, little one = little problem, grow so fast, etc.) and you put it so perfectly, with a newborn you can just fake it until you make it. “Whatever works!” actually WORKS because they all grow out of whatever stage they’re in. Older kids…trickier. Not that I don’t love them less, but they don’t have the squish cheeks to eat up anymore. :(
Barb @ getupandplay commented on Oct 05 11 at 2:00 amThis is scaring me… what is in my future??
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Kacy Faulconer 
Marinka 
DadCAMP 
Jen at PIWTPITT 
Mandy Cheney 
Stacie Haight Connerty 
Devan McGuinness 
Lori Garcia 
Meghan Gesswein 
Amber Doty 
Casey Mullins 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
7