I was chatting to my neighbour and good friend today about things we are going to try hard NOT to feel guilty about. I am totally susceptible to "mother guilt" and have been since the day I fell pregnant. So....these are my top 3 things that I am going to work hard on NOT feeling guilty about over the next few weeks....
1. Letting Little Miss CS watch a small amount of television every day. I know the government guidelines say no TV under 2 but it helps me put something semi-nutritious on the table every night when I get half an hour to do this. I know I should sit and watch with her but I don't. I feel really really guilty about this so this is my top one that I am going to try and NOT feel guilty about. I am trying to see it as some timeout for both of us and just another play experience during the day. Am I convincing anyone yet????
2. Doing something for me (like read my book for 20 minutes) while Little Miss CS is asleep in the day. I always feel really guilty because I should be using that time to clean/cook/make phone calls/do the filing etc etc. But I need to look after mummy too so I am going to try NOT to feel guilty about 20 minutes of down time.
3. Not filling every moment of every day with "developmental play opportunity". I think it comes from being an OT (I am sure my health professional and teacher readers will relate!) but I tend to feel guilty if I am not providing Little Miss with creative play experiences every day. I really want to let this go and enjoy her and let her be a little girl with no expectations.
I really feel vulnerable writing this. As if I am exposing my soul. But I figure that if I share these resolutions then I will be accountable to trying my best.
Would love to hear your "mother guilts" or more importantly - what are you going to try and NOT feel guilty about???
CSM xxxx
I have a big thing about TV too. I have actually found that now that my children are older (my bigger ones are aged 2 and 3), they watch LESS TV. We used to have 1 hour a day without fail (and boy did I look forward to that time!). Now, they are often so caught up in their own play that they often don't end up having their TV time (which I usually scheduled for the hour before dinner).
ReplyDeleteI also relate to the "developmental play" - being a fellow health professional. I've been doing a bit of reading though about how less parent-directed play is actually helpful - in building kids' imaginations, independence etc...
Aaah, Mummy guilt, yes, we all suffer from it I think! TV is always going to be one of those issues that parents are divided on. We watch tv in our house, sometimes 20 minutes, sometimes an hour but its never an issue as such, as soon as the weather is warmer my girls are happy to go outside and play for hours! Either way I get some time to clean up or make dinner!
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