D.C. Area Babies
Options
QOTD - Monday
(I think it's my turn??)
#1: What are you a stickler about with your kids (or hope to be with your future kids)? What is something that you don't negotiate on?
#2: What is something that you're probably a little too lax about?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: QOTD - Monday
#1: This will surprise no one, but dinner and eating in general. What's for dinner is what's for dinner at the time it is served. I've always strived to give him a big variety of foods and I think that's paid off (so far, next month I'm sure he'll rebel or something).
#2 Sticking to a schedule on weekends. We've always been super flexible about this but especially now that C so often fights naps. It isn't worth it to plan our day around when he may or may not nap, so we just go for it. So far it hasn't ruined him, but we'll see. If we're home, he goes to bed at a normal time but once a month or so we're out with him until 9 or 10pm. We're probably just lucky that he re-sets himself relatively easily.
#1: Sleep! We are big on keeping him on a schedule and making sure he gets as much sleep as he needs. J has a really hard time re-setting himself (daylight saving time was a total disaster) and he's also a big old crank when he's tired. I try to make sure he gets at least 11 hours at night and at least a 1.5 hour nap during the day. I will admit I have not been as crazy about watching him on the monitor lately.
#2: Socializing with other kids. He does it at daycare, obviously, but we've never done playdates or Mom & Me classes or anything like that. I feel bad because he went to a birthday party at a bounce house-type place last weekend (while I was out of town) and he was totally out of his element.
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
1) DD's bedtime, and usually naps. I never, ever push her bedtime, which none of my IRL friends understand. I try to be home for her nap, but on occasion it just doesn't happen (like on days she refuses to nap). ETA: Ditto tomandcourt- sleep is a BIG thing for us, we keep DD on her sleep schedule as much as possible. It's the #1 thing I'm very strict about.
2) If you ask my mother, she'd say I'm too lax about germs when it comes to DD. I don't freak out if she touches the toilet (it's too hard to keep her from touching everything 24/7 now that she's into everything!). She's on the floor all the time, and I don't clean it as often as I should. I don't see a point to shopping cart covers. Etc. But, my mom is a major germophobe, whereas I am not.
#1. We're sticklers about bedtime, because T is a mess if we keep her up too late. It's not worth keeping her up to go out for dinner or whatever if it means bedtime turning into an hour of crying.
#2. We're pretty laid back about a lot of things. I've noticed T is turning into a little princess (kind of like me at her age) - she wants things to be done for her that I guess she probably "should" start doing for herself (getting dressed, carried up/down stairs instead of climbing herself). We should probably push a little more self-reliance. But she's my baby...and I'm torn between wanting her to let go a little more and taking advantage of her acting like my little baby a little longer.
1. I'm trying to be a stickler about 1-2-3 time outs and to do it the same way every time. I've found that DD#1 responds well to that method so I'm just trying to keep it up and not get lax about it.
2. DD probably watches a bit more TV than I'd like.
MPD, i think we are living in the same house!
we are sticklers about meal time and our meal time rules.
we are very lax about bed time and naps. i really try hard to make sure that A goes down for her nap at home around the same time as she does during the week with DCP, but bedtime is all over the place.
1) We are pretty strict about bedtime, but not absolute sticklers. We will push it 20-30 minutes for DD. For DS, he can't make it much more, so its not really an issue. My family gave me such a hard time for this when we visited at Christmas and I wanted them back to my moms for bed. Oh, well. I know why I do it.
2) I thought I would be a little more strict with food. I don't buy junk for them (for me, I do, of course). But if family or friends offer them sweets, I let them have some. I really don't think kids their age need a daily dessert, but again, at Christmas, I was told by my family I am too strict with them. Oh well.
1. We'res sticklers about bedtimes and naptimes unless it's a very special occassion. Not many things are worth having two cranky toddlers.
2. Like a PP said, probably germs. I don't freak out if they come into contact with a kid with a cold and I don't purell them the second we leave the play place, etc.
#1- Sleep is the non-negotiable one for us too. People are always trying to convince us to let her stay up and I can't figure out why. She is no fun when she has not had enough sleep and she asks to go to bed so why mess that up? I am becoming more of a stickler right now on please and thank you.
#2- Probably food? It does not bother me if she eats greek yogurt and grapes for all three meals. She is eating healthy things so I just don't worry about it.
#1: I will also be a stickler about eating and meals. Family dinners are important to DH and I, as well as trying new foods. We're really hoping to avoid having a picky eater.
#2: I am too lax about giving in while in public. Years and years of hating loud, messy children in stores and restaurants has broken me, and the second that Guinevere starts to fuss, she gets anything she wants, even if it means she eats 6 mum mums in a row while I'm grocery shopping
MPD and Lindsey - I think we're all on the same page here
#1: What are you a stickler about with your kids (or hope to be with your future kids)? What is something that you don't negotiate on?
I'm a stickler about food and mealtime. I try to feel them mostly organic, non-processed food. I let them have treats but they know sugary stuff is for special occasions. They eat what I make, especially at dinnertime. Unless I'm serving something very spicy, I'm only making one dinner. My mom catered to my picky eating when I was kid and I think it just made it worse. I knew she would let me eat cereal or a peanut butter sandwich if I didn't want what she made.
#2: What is something that you're probably a little too lax about?
Bedtime for sure (no more naps in my house
) Since I stay home they don't really have to be up at a certain time in the morning. Last night we let them stay up until almost 9 and they both slept until 9 this morning because it's a teacher work day so no preschool. Even on school days they don't really have to be up until 8:30. I will need to get back into a better routine once DD starts kindergarten in the fall.
DD1 9.24.06
DS 7.1.08
twins due 9.7.11 lost twin A at
DD2 4.7.12
2. Oh, so many things. Like others said, germs. He drops things on the floor at home and then eats them (5 second rule, right?). Also TV - I'm in the "everything in moderation" camp. I don't think 30 minutes of Sesame Street is going to permanently damage his brain.
#1 Treating others with kindness and respect. Now, how that looks is certainly up for discussion, but the heart behind words and actions is very important to me. I know that a degree of compassion is nature not nurture, but I know nurture plays in to it some, so we've tried to help DS understand compassion from day 1 by treating him with compassion, naming feelings, etc.
#2 We have a very relaxed parenting style and it works well for us and DS. But, too lax...perhaps exploration? I let DS pull a music stand over on himself this weekend. I knew it wouldn't hurt him and I wasn't even sure it would fall over in the first place. When it fell, he cried and I got quite the nasty look from some other parents. This morning, I let him shake a bottle of vitamins as a rattle to his heart's content (child-proof lid, andmy eyes were always on him, but still I know that is a risk). I did draw the line at him splashing in the toilet this morning <shudder>.
More Green For Less Green
1. Manners. We are try real hard to reinforce politeness and kindness with DD and DS.
2. We're pretty lax parents but we each have pet peeves of the others styles. I think DH would prefer than I let DS explore the kitchen less - he likes to empty drawers and cabinets. I get annoyed when DH is taking care of the LOs and he forgets to follow any semblance of a schedule with eating and naps (for example he fed them lunch on Saturday at 2:45)
#1: I'm with MPD on this one...food. I am not a short order cook and I don't have the time to come up with multiple options. What is made for dinner is made for everyone. That said, i do try to make sure there is at least one thing I know everyone will eat, no matter what.
#2: Germs and weekend schedules. Just don't get that worked up on the germ front and I am blessed (knock on wood) with pretty healthy kids. I know I should be better on getting naps on the weekend, but it just doesn't happen. Often I pay the price later in the day, but I just don't want to stress about a schedule on the weekend and sometimes other stuff has to take priority.
1) I'm a stickler about bedtime, but not so much about naps. We get him to bed between 6:45 and 7:15 most nights.
2) I'm lax about what he gets into - I don't want to stifle his curiosity, so I do a lot of redirecting, but I also let him play with random things (not totally unsafe things, of course).
I'm also pretty much the opposite of a germaphobe, and he gets pretty grubby.
#1 I'm not quite sure how to negotiate with an 18 month-year-old. But I'm pretty consistent with his bedtime, wake up time and nap time. These rarely change and our routine pretty much stays the same.
#2 I think I need to start being more cognizant of germs and washing hands. I always forget to wash DS hands before dinner.
Off to the beach
DS 7/18/2010
Handy 2.0 Due Early August
2011/2012 Races
12/17/2011 Christmas Caper 10K
2/11/2012 Have a Heart 5K
3/17/2012 DC RNR Half Marathon
4/22/2012 10M Parkway Classic
10/28/2012 Marine Corps Marathon
1. Bedtime, 7pm sharp - every.single.night
2. Food. DS will eat some awesome, healthy stuff like sweet potato which I hate and which DH and DD won't touch either; I am not going to not feed it to him b/c the rest of us don't like it! DD loves pasta, me - not so much, so she will have pasta while I will not.
* duplicate post *
#1: Manners, which encompasses a lot. I don't expect them to act like adults 24/7 or know which fork to use or whatever. But they do need to express appreciation for things via "please" and "thank you," show consideration of other people's feelings, take turns and share, respect our home and their toys by taking care of them, conducting themselves properly (as much as can be expected) in restaurants and stores, etc. I'm not interested in raising savages.
#2: There are so many to choose from! We aren't strict about much. I'll say, like many others, we are lax about a strict bedtime (justified by DH's late work hours) and TV watching (which I justify to myself by saying "Look, they watched two 'Octonaut' episodes and then went and played for two straight hours based on what they just watched...what wonderful imaginations they have!" Sure...). I'm also lax about making them perform chores - even though, at their ages and sizes, there's not much they can take on right now. If they make a mess, like spill water at the table, they have to clean it up. But so often I just do things myself because it's faster, or they would need my assistance anyway, and I won't have to go back and re-do it like I would if I had them take care of it. I need to get better about "this _____ is your job." I keep having intentions of making a fancy Chore Chart, but it keeps landing at the bottom of my priority list.