I think, honestly, I am good at a lot of things. Unfortunately, I am not sure parenting is one of them. Especially between the hours of 7-8 am and 5-6 pm. Not to mention bedtime…
Any tips from parents who found ways to make these parts of the day a bit easier to manage? How can I improve things for the whole household? I’d prefer to keep my job, if at all possible.
Do I say, “Nope, this the the bowl you’re using for cereal this morning, and I’m not washing the one you just had to use last night.” Or, do I sacrifice a bit of sleep and wash it up the night before? (That’s not foolproof, of course, because who really knows what bowl will be THE bowl for the day? And, obviously, this is one tiny example–the day is filled with similar scenarios.)
And really, the question is, do you work to prevent tantrums during these parts of the day, or do you just suffer through them and hope that they soon realize crying isn’t going to accomplish anything? (Anything other than causing their parents to quietly question their own sanity, I mean.)
I’ve always thought parenting was work, but it usually seems manageable. I am starting to question that, and I worry it will only get worse.
Help us, experienced parents. What can we do better?
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