Many of my conversations with B have a potential to be a post, but I do not ever get down to writing most of them. Today, there was something which came out and I thought I should write it down.
When I look around, I see parents of many toddlers who have raised their kids in a way very different to me. I am not in a position to say whether that way or my way is better, but what I do know is that I am happy the way things are.
When I look back, one of the first things which I am grateful for is Amma to tell me that I should put T in a cot, teach her to sleep by herself, rather than get her used to body warmth and suit the short term convenience. I know the effort I put in to sleep train her, and the extend of crying I had to endure to ensure that she would learn. The extend of reading I did to CIO or go in a slow, paced manner. Eventually I decided not to CIO, but I chose to go with the Sears method, and it worked for me, but that was possible primarily because of the cot being there.
Another thing which kept me sane was a decision which I made to use diapers, and not follow the cloth napkin routine. There was a strong urge in me to use the eco-friendly, baby- friendly option, but that was certainly not a solution for me, as a person almost all on my own with T, I was not in a position to take on another responsibility. So, I chose diapers and it helped me a long way, and in a way was also responsible for helping me sleep train her.
Another thing which I see is so many children who are jumping about in cars, sitting on the front seat, and many a times, moving between seats too! T has been on a car seat since the time she started to move about in cars, and that has made my life so much more simpler. I was able to move about on my own since the time she was 4 months, and she started to enjoy the rides. As a mother taking her child out all by herself, there is no way she can do it, unless there is a car seat. I think this gave me the mobility and peace of mind while driving, making my life much more bearable.
I am not a person who loves kids. In fact I am not too sure whether I have ever been the child loving kind. I would just say that I have been a person for rules and following them, so which might be a reason why kids and me never really gelled. And, I think a large part of my kind of child rearing has been influenced by these rule following ideas. This might not suit many, but now I have a kid who is so set on rules, I am happy :)
When I look around, I see parents of many toddlers who have raised their kids in a way very different to me. I am not in a position to say whether that way or my way is better, but what I do know is that I am happy the way things are.
When I look back, one of the first things which I am grateful for is Amma to tell me that I should put T in a cot, teach her to sleep by herself, rather than get her used to body warmth and suit the short term convenience. I know the effort I put in to sleep train her, and the extend of crying I had to endure to ensure that she would learn. The extend of reading I did to CIO or go in a slow, paced manner. Eventually I decided not to CIO, but I chose to go with the Sears method, and it worked for me, but that was possible primarily because of the cot being there.
 |
| 3 months |
Another thing which kept me sane was a decision which I made to use diapers, and not follow the cloth napkin routine. There was a strong urge in me to use the eco-friendly, baby- friendly option, but that was certainly not a solution for me, as a person almost all on my own with T, I was not in a position to take on another responsibility. So, I chose diapers and it helped me a long way, and in a way was also responsible for helping me sleep train her.
Another thing which I see is so many children who are jumping about in cars, sitting on the front seat, and many a times, moving between seats too! T has been on a car seat since the time she started to move about in cars, and that has made my life so much more simpler. I was able to move about on my own since the time she was 4 months, and she started to enjoy the rides. As a mother taking her child out all by herself, there is no way she can do it, unless there is a car seat. I think this gave me the mobility and peace of mind while driving, making my life much more bearable.
 |
| 4 months |
well rules are there for a reason.. there is a reason why a child should be in a child seat in a car ..
ReplyDeleteand those who DON'T follow them find it the hard way ..
Bikram