Being a mom is not easy. There are so many different ways of parenting that it can get overwhelming trying to figure out what's "right". A few months ago a friend of mine put her son in Preschool 3 times a week for like 2-3 hours. Her son is only 5 months older than Oliver. Then I saw a few more moms do that with their kids who are all about Ollie's age. I started to get worried. Am I supposed to sign my son up too? Is he going to be behind? Is Kindergarten going to be harder for him? Does he need structure, lesson plans, etc????
I thought, as a working mom I don't have all of these options for my kids. I work Monday thru Friday, I leave the house at 6:45 and get home at 5:30. When am I supposed to do all of this dropping off, picking up?
Are my children going to suffer? The last thing I want is for them to not be up to par with their peers.
I'm telling you, being a parent is not easy. You really have to worry about your kids!
Then I realized everything is going to be okay. Oliver and Scarlett are in daycare all day long. They don't just play all day. This is more so Oliver: They learn letters, numbers, animals, colors. They socialize all day long with not only same age peers, but with older kids and younger kids. All they do is so very valuable and Oliver is so smart. He is not suffering by being in daycare.
I realized that sometimes I look too much at my stay at home mom friends. There is a pang of jealousy, I admit. I wish I could just be a mom and take my kids all over town and do fun stuff. Instead I see my kids for maybe an hour in the morning. Work 9 stressful hours. Then I see them for maybe 2 hours before bedtime.
So I've now realized that Preschool is something that we may do at 4, but for now day care serves the same purpose as Preschool does. Though there are some people out there that like to make me feel like my kids are on a lower level because they are not in Preschool. I hate that I let it get to me via a rant like this...Yes, this is my round a bout way of coping with someone else's judging.
Some people like to make themselves seem better by putting others down...Weird...
I've learned though that I just need to breathe...love the people close to me and support those who support me. :)
Our kids are beautiful and we should celebrate their differences instead of making them (and their parents) feel awkward for it.
I seriously don't think you should worry about it. I never put my kids in daycare (though I would have loved to!), and my 5 year old just passed a test to start kindergarten in an international school, where he will learn english and french, and spanish in grade 3. You're doing the best for your kids (who are beautiful, btw), and that's all you need to know. Don't let anyone tell you what you need to be doing, you've got it right for you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I think my kiddos are doing great too...but sometimes those pesky judgers get to you!!! My parents never put me in any early learning programs and I was always very smart, even testing into Chellege Programs. I think each child dictates their learning and ther is nothing we can really do but follow their lead!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support. :)