A RealFamilies RealFun Blog

Sep 2 2008

The power of books

Category: Kids & Growing Up

My parents were sneaky but very smart. They used to leave sex education books, Planned Parenthood pamphlets, and a copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" around the house hoping that my sister and I would pick them up on our own. Well, we did find them and learned the basics of puberty, body changes, and sexual health before our parents had "The Talk" with us.

I liked that the books were always there to answer our questions, since I was too shy to ask my parents about sex stuff. So I'm starting a collection of my own sex ed books -- everything from books for teens to how to explain how babies are born for younger children. My kids are a little young for these books, but it's always good to be prepared.

Somehow I didn't think potty training manuals fit into this category. But it's amazing how instructional and influential they've been on Lucie. One evening she picked up the "how to potty train your kid in one day" book that's been sitting on my night stand for over a month. She spent a good deal of time looking at the illustrations. She was so intrigued that I got out the "big girls use the potty" book that I had planned to give her when we started training later this summer. We read through it three times before bedtime.

The next day we went about our usual routine. After coming home from an outing, she was still dry. Then she asked to use the potty. She successfully went, and then went again. Then she proceeded to use every toilet, both big and small, in the house the rest of the afternoon and evening.

While she's had a few accidents since then, she's managed to get the basics down. I'm glad the books have been so inspirational. Maybe I'll leave a few "how to clean your room, not spill food on the floor, and make your mom happy" books next.

 

Sep 1 2008

Imagination

Category: Kids & Growing Up

Lucie likes to pretend she's Angelina Ballerina, the ballet dancing mouse. This involves costume changes -- thanks to Uncle Mark who gave her an Angelina Ballerina costume for her birthday -- and lots of leaping around trying to pirouette while I clap and yell, "Bravo!" in a Russian voice like Miss Lilly,, the ballet teacher on the Angelina Ballerina cartoon.

Sometimes she likes to pretend she's Nathan and wear his baseball cap or t-shirt. This game is well known at our local post office. We'll walk in and the postmaster will ask her, "Who's this? Are you Lucie or Nathan today?" Sometimes he'll just greet her with a big, "Hello Nathan!" Lucie will give him a dirty look and tell him, "Hmmph. I'm not Nathan, I'm Lucie!

The other day at the grocery store, she kept telling me I was Paul. She'd say, "Hi Daddy! What are you doing Daddy?"

I replied, "I'm not Daddy."

"But why?" she asked.

"Because I'm not big and stinky like your dad," I replied.

 

Aug 28 2008

Monkey see monkey do

Category: Kids & Growing Up

The neighbor children were outside, and Nathan and Lucie asked to go play. Since our four neighbor children are the nicest, most well behaved I have ever met, I knew there was nothing to worry about.  The bigger kids watch over the younger ones. So I gave Nathan and Lucie permission to go outside, and to mind the big boys.

I went upstairs to my room, which overlooks the neighbor's and our driveways. While I worked on the computer, I kept the window open. This way I could keep an ear out for trouble and look down to see what the children were up to or to answer questions like, "Can we have a popsicle?" or "Mom, can you get the ball from across the street?"

Everything was fine until Nathan yelled out, "Mooooooom! Lucie's peeing on the front lawn." I looked out the window and saw Lucie on the lawn half naked with her shorts and pull-up off. Indeed, she was standing there peeing on my husband's finely manicured lawn. My first thought was, oh great, my daughter is going feral. Yippee, maybe I can drop her off at the zoo to be raised. Then I rushed downstairs and asked her why she was doing that. Lucie replied, "Well Nathan peed on the lawn!" Oh boy, now I had two feral kids on my hands.

I asked Nathan if that was true and he denied it. Realizing that he wouldn't admit to anything in front of the neighbor boys, I quickly herded both of my discipline problems inside.

As I got Lucie dressed, I told her we do not pee on the front lawn because 1) it's yucky, 2) we pee in the potty, 3) peeing outside is only o.k. when we go hiking or camping, and 4) daddy would be mad if you killed his lawn. Then I asked Nathan again if he peed on the lawn first. He denied it repeatedly.

Later that day, I revisited the "we use the potty not the front lawn" issue with Lucie. And again, she told me she used the front lawn because Nathan did. Knowing that a three-year-old wasn't likely to make up something like this on her own, I grilled Nathan again. "Oh yeah. I forgot. I did pee on the front lawn," he finally admitted. I sent him to his room and waited for his father to come home to discuss the incident and help me decide appropriate punishment.

Why is it that kids do the most embarrassing things on the front lawn right in front of the entire neighborhood? Now where did I put the number for the Denver Zoo?