I held you, mottled pink and silicon-fat arms. I gazed at you, with amazement and fright. I fed you, in the dark hours when the world had stopped except for us. I rocked you, when nothing else helped.
I changed you, picked up after you, I helped you to walk. I weaned you, I tickled you, [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Parenting'
Where does my time go?
March 4th, 2010 · 13 Comments · Not Enough Children, Parenting
Tags: Not Enough Children·Parenting
On being more patient
February 17th, 2010 · 7 Comments · Me, Parenting
Luckily, Lent – and therefore my efforts to give up being impatient – begins on Ash Wednesday because yesterday was Trying. That is the most patient word I can think of to describe it.
First, number three son - already a tricky boy and already the difficult age of four – was poorly with ongoing nausea. [...]
Tags: patience
What to give up for Lent
February 16th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Parenting
After much deliberation, I have decided: I am giving up impatience for Lent. NO LAUGHING AT THE BACK.
(I’ll let you know how I get on!)
Photo: me
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Aporkalypse
November 24th, 2009 · 5 Comments · Parenting
So despite all my precautions, swine flu has hit the household, four days after William got his first of the two swine flu vaccinations. I wasn’t allowed more than three days of semi-relief that he was partially protected because that would clearly have lulled me into a false sense of security. And as any mother [...]
Just a short break from blogging
November 10th, 2009 · 9 Comments · Parenting
Life is not going well at the moment. Instead of blogging I have been attempting to take care of the problems in my family. Sometimes I go on the internet to google things like ‘how to discipline a child who doesn’t care about being disciplined’, ‘counselling for a child’ and other such things. School is [...]
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Money well spent
September 25th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Parenting
The nursery teacher hands me the small brown envelope that I immediately recognise as the school fees. I am about to throw it away when I remember that Ben is staying for the lunchtime hour this term and therefore I will, for the first time, have to pay fees. It is only for that hour [...]
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Lessons in parenting
September 5th, 2009 · No Comments · Parenting
I love this piece from Anna Maxted in the Guardian today about calling in the parenting pros for lessons in professional parenting. I’m a firm believer in reflective listening and building self-esteem rather than punitive discipline but it’s not always easy, or even possible, when presented by a recalcitrant seven year old or a three [...]
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Slightly hard, just a little bit soft
August 26th, 2009 · 8 Comments · Parenting
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/certified_su/ / CC BY 2.0
After a day or arse-splitting constipation from Third Son, requiring manual extraction (oh dear God no, I can’t even write those words without flinching) and a day of arse-exploding diarrhoea from Second Son (sixth stomach bug in five weeks, it’s been such a fun summer) is it just a little [...]
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Three years old, blue striped t-shirt, wispy hair, eczema all over his mouth
August 12th, 2009 · 16 Comments · Parenting
Photo: tomaszd
We push through the entrance. There are thousands of people here. ‘Stay where you can see me, boys,’ I say. ‘If you get lost, we’ll meet here – find a mummy and tell her to bring you here.’ I say it twice, the second time making them look at me because they’re already distracted [...]
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A different kind of perfection
May 27th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Daily Life, Parenting
I strive for pefection.
I achieve, um, something quite a lot less than that.
But that’s okay.
My house is a mess but my children are happy.
I’m busy but they learn to be resourceful and fill their own time.
I don’t get anything done for myself or around the house that I would like to but there is always [...]
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