Monday, April 17, 2006

Sometimes you keep something valuable so long...only to find it is no longer valuable.

Sunday confessions, a day late:

The above quote is a pearl of wisdom direct from the mouth - er, keyboard - of a fellow blogger. Blackbird, take a bow. You are quotable!

Ok, that's not really a confession. So here we go --

Primo has always been my obedient-ish child. He *asks* if he can have some Easter candy before breakfast. Of course, the answer is no. On the other hand, Segundo just sauntered into the living room with his cheeks stuffed full of Hershey’s kisses. If you don’t ask, you can’t be told no! I admire this trait and wish I were more like Segundo. (Unfortunately, Primo inherited his at-times-over-eager desire to please from me.)

I am very lackadaisical about monitoring my children. In the morning, as long as they are safe and not drawing blood from each other, I prefer them to leave me alone. Until about 10 or so. Lock up the microphone stands.

I spend much of this hour or so, between breakfast and truly awakening, reading/writing email, and reading/writing blogs and comments. And drinking tea. Very strong, very caffeinated tea.

I just yelled at my child for laughing too raucously.

I wish I were brave enough to ask my shrink about taking some sort of anti-anxiety med on top of the Zoloft. But I don’t *really* want to pump anything else into my body and therefore into Terzo. I should probably just invest in an industrial-strength pair of earplugs.

Also, I just heard an ad for PBS Sprout, “PBS preschool, round the clock.” I find this APPALLING. What could you possibly, regularly, need children’s programming for at three in the morning? The confession part: I HATE TV. I can’t watch, I find it way too noisy and visually stimulating. I tried to watch “ER” the other week, a show I used to watch regularly, and couldn’t get through it. As I get older, I seem to need peace and quiet and calm, and the soothing-ness of a good book. People who turn on the TV and let it run as background noise perplex me. Even when I lived alone I did not ever do this. I just don’t get it. And I look down on said people. I am sorry if any of you are among this consort.

I get VERY impatient with other parents who let their children run wild through the coffee shop, church, even the supermarket, when I feel I spend much time making sure my children don’t disrupt other people too much. I am not talking tantrumming or crying kids, or kids having a good time laughing and talking; that happens to all of us. I am talking about the parents who allow what amounts to a full-fledged tackle football game between three preschoolers to go on the full-length of the coffee shop, while they drink their coffee and chat and read the paper. Hello! I come up here to GET AWAY from noisy and rambunctious children! And it’s much harder to get my kids to sit at the table like human beings and drink their cocoa and not scream their comments at the top of their lungs when you allow your children to act like rampaging Huns.

15 comments:

lazy cow said...

Yes, I'm rather slack about monitoring my children too. My mother (the Queen of worriers) calls my version of parenting 'optimistic'. Just because I don't think of all the things that could go wrong.
I hate the noise of the TV, and noise in general. That's why I'm up at midnight at the computer, in blissful quiet. Good night.

blackbird said...

I am a fiend for monitoring my children...and now that they are older the look askance at children running rampant.
This pleases me.

If whilst watching neverending Sesame Street you see/hear a story of Henry who is afraid to go down the big slide? That's my Middle.

Gina said...

My happiest moments are when Teddy turns off the TV and walks away. For some reason, *that* makes me feel like I'm really doing a good job.

Joke said...

A child who has figured out that forgiveness is INFINITELY more obtainable than permission is a child who is disturbingly wise.

-J.

Sarah Louise said...

As one that uses her VCR instead of Ambien or Lunesta or Tylenol PM (sleep aids, for you non-insomniacs), I am not worried that you think I'm weird. I need to have a little background noise--we'll chalk it up to the "takes all kinds" factor. I however cannot deal with CNN news on the hour and often turn the radio off for the 5 or so minutes the news is on. My mother is one of those peace and quiet people--I guess it jumps generations--but my dad is like me, liking the background noise, etc. Go figure. Guess which parent came into the marriage with a sizable record collection? (Three guesses and the first two don't count.)

I agree, though, that ER can often be overstimulating.

Guess y'all won't be having issues for "Turn the TV off week"--I've never celebrated it yet--I must have my "Friends" and "Crossing Jordan" fixes.

And I refuse to do the vw, which is 23 letters long (I swear!)

Badger said...

I am so with you on the WWF at the coffee shop thing. I find it helps to foster a sense of superiority in my children. "Yes, I know Mackenzie and Tucker are disemboweling one another over by the muffin case, but we don't behave that way because we're BETTER THAN THEM."

I really do say that. Consider that my confession for this week. Except I don't really feel bad about it at all.

Jess said...

Yesterday in Sunday school I pulled a girl aside and told her she needed to stop using such a shrill voice. God only knows what I'll say to my own kids someday...

I can't handle commercials. Drive me crazy. I prefer my tv on dvd, when I want it, with no commercials.

Anonymous said...

Some of you guys know that I teach first grade. I enjoy kids, and I am quite tolerant of their screechy voices and lack of body/space awareness, but I still find myself appalled when I see kids with their parents in public and what they are allowed to do. In my classroom I spend a lot of time working on manners, kind words, acceptable levels of classroom noise, being respectful, etc. It's hard, because a lot of kids don't hear it at home.

Joke said...

Badge,

Wait. Are people who say things like that SUPPOSED to feel bad?

When asked why Hunter and Taylor do [insert abysmal child behavior here] when they are explicitly forbidden, I tell my kids "Because Daddy is not allowed to beat Hunter and Taylor."

-J.

lazy cow said...

When I said monitoring, I meant at home. When we're out I expect good behaviour and am quite willing to leave a cafe/movie/whatever if my children are not behaving well. That's why I HATE going out with other mums (unless it's to the park or to their houses) as most parents just let their kids do what they want, then shrug helplessly as if to say "what can I do?" I really have to bite my tongue...

Joke said...

LC,

The correct answer to "What can I do..?" is:

"Send them off to military school."

HTH,

-J.

KPB said...

my current cause of biggest rants are lazy parents - exactly those of which you mention. But I certainly don't put the quiet time (which we all need for sanity) that you mention into that field.
It means I feel like I'm constantly "on" my kids at the moment but then realise, it's about teaching them right/wrong ways to behave and about being considerate of others. Doesn't world peace stem from that?

BabelBabe said...

Kim, I know! I feel like I spend alot of time in public haranguing my children. But then I breath and look at them and they are moderately well-behaved, and learning, and still having a good time, so I figure it's "haranguing" in my brain, but really just guidance...

Suse said...

Those last two are NOT confessions (the others, I'll let you keep).

TV hating is not a confession. It's sanity. Same with having no tolerance for children running wild in public. I feel like I'm the strictest parent on the planet, but I can't abide wild feral children who are allowed to 'express themselves and their creativity' all over the supermarket. I want to slap them. And their parents.

(Now THAT'S a confession).

Katy said...

Happy Birthday BabelBabe!