Raising kids is HARD. Way harder than I thought. I’m amazingly fortunate to have the resources we do today; child physiologists with Facebook feeds and great articles on what goes on in those little brains, a bevy of friends with kids just a few years older than mine who listen and say “This is what I did, maybe it’ll help” or “oh god that’s right, its THAT stage”, and the perfect for us daycare/preschool/after-school care facility that believes kids should be kids who are learning to be people.

undefined Ever since my little one was 18 months, he’s been helping me cook, mostly putting things in the crock-pot in the beginning, all the way up to this summer when we made a video on how to make homemade pasta.

I’m a huge fan of teaching kids early on how to be independent and take care of themselves, all while making sure he doesn’t grow up too fast and getting in all the cuddles I can.

When he turned 3 we designated a drawer, within his reach, that would hold all ‘his’ cups. We created a snack cabinet he could reach and stocked it with yummy snacks that were parent approved – fruit cups, cereal bars (we like Trader Joe’s), turkey jerky, and a few Annie’s snack bags. When he was hungry, he’d ask for a snack and we’d say sure, go ahead and get one. If he was thirsty he’d get a cup, go to the bathroom sink with the stool and get a drink. This past winter I started teaching him how to use the microwave to warm up items. He likes melty ice cream, so he will put that in for a few seconds and doesn’t like his apples from the fridge the cold hurts his teeth. If there’s no apples on the counter, he’ll pop one in the microwave for 4 seconds and he’s good to go.

When I started my day today I thought UGH maybe there IS a downfall to teaching your child how to microwave frozen pancakes. Here’s how it started:

He was in the living room and I yelled down I was getting in the shower…ok mamma!

30 seconds in…the door opens… where are the pancakes? In the freezer. OK!

1 minute in…the door opens again…I cant get the bag open. Did you try using scissors? OH!

90 seconds in…mamma, the scissors don’t work he yells up the stairs (Heres where tears of frustration start) ok, bring them both to me I say…he brings them up, and I cut the bag open for him

3 minutes in….an exasperated wail of frustration from the kitchen….AAAAHHHHHHRRRRRR YOU STUPID THING!!!!!WHY WONT YOU OPEN!!!!!!.   by now I’m out of the shower and headed down…’cause ya’know…kids.

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I get to the kitchen and he’s got the church key, a bottle opener, and a wooden spoon strewn across the counter next to the maple syrup…AND there are hot pot holders tossed all over the kitchen floor.

Oh dude, you’re so frustrated! What happened? I CANT GET THIS SYRUP OPEN.  How’d these tools get on the count? MAMMA I TRIED.THEM.ALL.!! AND NOTHING WORKS! [He had a bottle that wouldn’t open – so he tried a bottle opener, a church key, and banged on it with a wooden spoon cause he didn’t want to break the bottle]  oh buddy, look how smart you were to try all these…sometimes nothing works and that’s frustrating, right?  Ya, mamma. Can you help? THANKS! You’re the best mamma in the world.

Lets pick up the pot holders, ok bubsy? OK mamma, as the tears start to fade. How’d they get HERE? OOOhh he said, the plate was hot, and I wanted the mittens. dude, you’re so smart to know what tools to use.

Actually, maybe there isn’t a downfall to this. I learned to take a 2 minute shower, my son is resourceful as crap, he can work through his frustration with out me and he’ll never starve as long as there are apples, ice cream and frozen pancakes around (and a microwave).

A few of my favorite Facebook feeds to follow for child raising and feeding are listed here. I don’t know who the person is that writes these, where they might be in the world, or if they make money from their pages (other than Jessica Lehey). I only know that some of the suggestions, topics and books written about on here resonated with me as a parent and fit with our parenting style. Feel free to check them out if you don’t already know about them