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Eldercare
Question for the "older" moms
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Anonymous
| What one piece of advice would you give to younger moms? |
Anonymous
| Well, I'm an older mom with three kids five and under. I'm 47. Some of the so-called younger moms have good advice for me. There are moms in their thirties on here with teenagers. I don't think older necessarily means wiser. Maybe more financially stable. |
Anonymous
| I have several friends with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. I have an older elementary school aged child. I have stopped giving advice or sharing tips on things that have worked for us. No one listens or follows the advice and worst of all, if they ask my opinion and I give it, many of them argue with me about it. ie Friend: Did you find the terrible twos to be hard, bc it really isn't as bad as I thought. Me: Oh no. I found there to be a few challenges in the twos, but really not that bad. Three is much worse than two. It can be a really hard age. Friend: Oh! Three will be NO problem! By then they will be so much more verbal you can just talk to them about solving problems. Plus! They will be fully potty trained!! That must be just YOUR child. Me: (in my head) Suuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrreeeeee. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. (out loud) Must be. Sounds like you have it all under control. |
Anonymous
|
What sort of advice, OP? Anything specific? |
Anonymous
| Always count to 10! |
Anonymous
| Relax and enjoy your children. Don't get caught up in the frenzy of booking your child into every class,team, and lesson. Take cues from your children as to what their interests are. Spend time as a family doing simple and fun activities. |
Anonymous
|
Love your children for who they are. Don't force your expectations onto your child. Expose them to many different things, but step back and allow them to figure out what they are passionate about. In other words, just because you love Lacrosse, doesn't mean your son will. He might have a love for drama. Get out of their way and allow them to be the people they were meant to be.
Give them time to just play. Every moment doesn't have to be filled with lessons, sports, playdates, and trips. Teach them to play by themselves when they are little. Don't sweat the small stuff....strollers, organic food, chemical-free products, perfect preschools, baby yoga, ..... all that stuff will seem really silly when your kids are older. Find a way to eat supper together as a family at night. That has always been really important in our family. And many, many studies have shown that kids who sit down to family suppers are less likely to become involved in drugs and alcohol. Especially as the kids get older, sometimes suppertime is the only time during the day when everyone in the family can connect. Remind them over and over again that there is nothing they could ever do that would change your love for them. Love is unconditional. Signed, Mom of five....Two in college, two in high school, one in elementary school. |
Anonymous
| The last 2 PPs have said it all -- bottom line: love your children for who they are; see them as precious gifts on loan to you, not as your possessions. (mom of 4 great kids, ages 13, 17, 20 and 22) |
Anonymous
| Although I'm an "older" mum, I have young children (9, 1,1) so I'm learning too. Thanks. |
Anonymous
This. I would only add, spend lots of time outdoors with your kids. |
Anonymous
ditto |
Anonymous
|
Shut out the comparisons. What your friends kids are doing has nothing to do with yours.
Accept them. |
Anonymous
| Don't put off working out, thinking you'll get back to it in a couple of years when you have more time. It gets harder and harder to get back into shape as you get older. You may not be at the level you want to be but you will feel better if you even make time for yourself to walk daily. And you'll feel better when you hit your 50s! |
Anonymous
Children change - the 2-year-old who bites doesn't necessarily become the problem child. The outgoing toddler may not still be that way at 10. Rigorous potty training is unnecessary; your child will let you know. 
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Anonymous
| Don't compare your kids to each other |