childhood Archives - Adventure, baby!

childhood

5 Lessons I’m Learning From My Preschooler

May 7, 2015 / Family, Kids / 15 Comments

I spend a lot of time teaching my preschooler the little things. The names of animals and flowers. The polite way to ask for something. I am her teacher in life as well as her caretaker. I realized the other day, however, that for all I am teaching my child, she is also teaching me a few things. It turns out that we have so much to learn from each other.

Be curious
My preschooler can literally spend an hour walking from our house to the supermarket three blocks away, engrossed by every single bug, flower, rock and crack in the pavement we encounter. “Why, Mommy?” is asked a thousand times a day. Why are the leaves falling off the trees? Why are the ants swarming? Why is there a puddle? Instead of rushing her to get our chores done, I’m trying to relax and go at her pace, and marvel in rediscovering what a weird and wonderful world we live in.

Make your own fun
I feel like I need constant stimulation and activities to have fun. Galleries, restaurants, movies. My preschooler loves to pick up sticks and pretend they are fairy wands. She can be entertained for hours with nothing more than a few bit of shrubbery and her imagination. When did we start to need so much “stuff” to just have fun?

Dancing like no one’s watching
My preschooler dances up and down the street. In shops and elevators. In restaurants and car parks. Whenever the mood strikes her, she busts a move and puts on her best arabesque for anyone who happens to be watching. She exudes so much joy in every move of her tiny body, and her lack of self consciousness is a delight to behold. Why should we care what people think of us (and our dancing!). We should be dancing in the streets if the mood takes, not caring if we’re a bit uncoordinated.

Sing like no-one’s listening
I used to love singing! Absolutely love it. Somewhere along the way though, it came to my attention that I was not as good a singer as I had thought, and I stopped singing out loud so as to not offend people with my off-key melodies. My daughter, however, doesn’t care if she’s hitting all the wrong notes when she belts out Wheels On The Bus. She doesn’t let what people think get in the way of doing what she loves. Can’t we all take a note out of her book and sing if it give us joy (even if we’re tone-deaf?).

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Women are the worst at criticizing the way we look. We’re never just happy with what we’ve got, we have to compare ourselves to how we think we should look. Taller, thinner, fitter, better nose, smoother hair. We wave off compliments and joke about how much we need to hit the gym. Our children, however, think we are the most beautiful things they have ever seen. They don’t notice our flaws, they just see the person who loves them more than anything, who is there to kiss their boo boos and hug them when they wake in the night with bad dreams. Preschoolers see their moms as powerful, strong, and beautiful, so why can’t we see ourselves this way, too?

Rock your own style
As we get older and more aware of the expectations of work and society, we tend to tone down our personal style and wear plainer clothes. I can’t imagine my preschooler in anything that could be called “plain”. Right now she is favouring tutus, glittery socks, bright blue Mary Janes and tiaras – with an Elsa braid or old lady bun. She dresses exactly how she feels and has so much fun with her outfits. She’s reminding me of the enjoyment I used to get when I dressed for fun rather than for function, and helping me bring my inner style back to the outside again.

This article was first published on MommyNearest.

This is Three

January 8, 2015 / Cheese, Family, Kids / 14 Comments

My little Cheeseola is 3.5. Every day she cracks me up and tests my patience to the limits. I’ve stopped keeping detailed notes about her development and cute things she does, so I’m writing it down here so I don’t forget all of the tiny adorable details of my little girl’s childhood.

She collects gumnuts off the footpath and puts them in her pockets.

She says things like “yes, that’s very difficult”.

She asks for water “with ice and a lemon”.

She has a huge heart. I’ve never heard her say a bad word about anyone, and she is welcoming to anyone who wants to play with her.

Her emotions are huge and she can’t yet control them.

She’s obsessed with counting, singing and dancing.

She wants to do everything by herself, and in her own time. Including toilet training.

She loves to make me laugh.

She’s a big mummy’s girl and I love it.

She has so many questions. “Why?”, “What’s that?”, “What’s that called?”, “Where is that?”, “What’s the name of this place?”. Her curiosity is relentless.

She’s empathetic. She’ll notice things like “she looks sad”, and want to cheer her up.

She’s got an excellent memory. She’ll come out with things like “I want to go to our old home. In Brooklyn”.

She’s a bit vague. Just like her dad 😉 She has a hard time remembering where she left things, and it’s hard to get her attention when she’s focused on something like, say, the iPad.

She’s relentless. I do admire that she knows what she wants and keeps on at me until she gets it, even if it drives me nuts at the time.

She has an active imagination. Her fantasy world of princesses and fairies is just amazing to behold.

She gets bad dreams. So bad that she sometimes says “I don’t want to go to sleep, because I get bad dreams”. It makes me so sad.

She barely eats. I feel like I’m always force feeding her because she just doesn’t think to eat, even when food is right in front of her. She’s always focused on something else.

She’s a great performer. She loves dancing and singing in front of an audience. This is not a shy child.

She’s loud. No surprises where she got that from.

She loves watching live shows. I have a wonderful time taking her to performances and plays – she gets so much joy out of them.

She’s crazy active. She’s always been super active, and nothing has changed. She’s always pushing herself to her physical limits.

She’s intense. Oh man is she intense. It’s exhausting, but also entertaining, exhilarating and maddening.

She loves putting pieces together. Like Playmobil and Minnie Mouse Bowtique. She’s not into blocks, but she loves making character-based worlds come alive.

She has started to take an interest in what she wears. She loves dresses, particularly tutus, and anything sparkly. She loves bow hair clips, tiaras, ballet shoes and accessories. She also likes having her fingernails painted.

Her favourite shoes have gingerbread men on them.

She has just mastered the scooter. After a year of refusing to even give it a go because it was “too hard”, the other day she just decided she wanted to do it, and so she did. Minutes later, she was off like a pro.

She’s still a terrible sleeper. If she’s not coming into our bedroom at 4am and climbing into bed with me, she’s up between 5:30 and 6am. Alec and I are so tired.

She wants to wear a dress every day.

She loves watching Barney, The Wiggles and Strawberry Shortcake.

She loves dressing up as fairies and princesses.

She wants to fly “Oh I wish I could fly!”

She loves her grandparents and says “I miss them terribly” when they leave.

10 Things I Want My Child To Learn By Age 10

October 7, 2014 / Family, Kids / 0 comment

My tiny girl is growing up so fast. She’s just three, and while some days she still seems like a baby, others she is already showing signs of the big kid she’s quickly becoming. Raising a girl is taking me back to my own childhood and bringing up memories—both good and bad—of how fun, wonderful and also difficult it can be navigating the move from child to tween. There are so many things I want to teach my daughter and show her as she grows into a young lady, ready to take on the world on her own. Here are ten things I hope she learns by the time she turns double digits.

To be a good friend
Right now I’m trying to teach the concept of sharing. She has no trouble attracting little friends at this stage, and I hope that as she gets older she will keep friends close to her heart. Friends will support her throughout life when family can’t be there, and fill in the place of the siblings she doesn’t have.

To stand up for herself
Growing up in Brooklyn playgrounds, this kid has no trouble standing up for herself if another kid tries to grab a toy out of her hands. But it’s a world of difference in the grade school and tween years, when kids can get mean and catty and form cliques. I hope that by helping our daughter realize her self worth, she will be able able to keep her confidence high and stand up to bullies.

To stand up for others
I also want my daughter to use her strength to help others in need, to speak up for people who can’t speak up for themselves. Sometimes we need to be a voice for those who aren’t able to use their own. A little empathy and kindness make the world a better place for everyone to live in.

To develop her own voice
It’s so easy to follow others and ignore what makes you special so you blend in. It takes a great deal of personal character and strength to really be yourself and follow your own heart. I hope my fearless girl will continue to stand confident in her own values and embrace being unique.

To be bold
When we’re little it’s easy to be brave. As we get older, though, fear starts to get in the way of us fulfilling our potential. I want my girl to keep her sassiness and fearlessness, and continue to be the brave girl who has forged her own way since birth.

To be her own style icon
There’s no need to copy other people’s styles and trends when you can create a unique look that’s perfect for just you. I hope to see many adventurous outfits and hairstyles on my daughter as she becomes a tween. Crazy hair? Sure, bring it on!

To be kind to animals
Animals need us to watch out for them—to champion their causes and to pick them up when they’re hurt. My daughter already loves animals. The next step is teaching her to show all creatures empathy and give them help when they need it—whether it’s bringing home a stray kitten or telling us she’s found a bird with a broken wing that needs aid.

To keep trying
We’ve all been there—sometimes it feels like it’s easier to just give up. Take riding a bike, for example. It may seem hard at first and not worth to trying (especially when you can just scoot or walk instead), but it is. What’s important, though, isn’t the bike riding (although having your own transportation is awesome), it’s the trying and persisting that builds character. I know this will ultimately help my daughter succeed later in life.

To dream big and work hard
We all start with big dreams. Huge, lofty, crazy dreams about the way we want our lives to go. But how often do we follow through on these dreams? They don’t magically come true—dreams require a lot of hard work and persistence. So keep on dreaming big, little one, and get ready to work your butt off to make them a reality.

To find the joy in each day
Some days are not joyful. They’re downright hard and sometimes sad. It’s not realistic to ask anyone to be happy every day of their lives, but I hope that my daughter is able to find at least a small moment of joy in every day, to help her keep loving life even through the tough times.

This article first appeared on MommyNearest.