Monroe Parenting

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

Caitlyn had another play date last night and she demonstrated just how much she pays attention to what I say and do. ….. The kids were downstairs playing and the little boy decided he wanted to go back upstairs. He was told ‘no,’ but he kept on climbing the steps. His mom stood up and told him that he had until the count of three to come back down. She said “One….” and then Caitlyn ran to the bottom of the stairs and said “2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11! You get back down here right now you bad boy!!” Then she turned to me and said “He’s not listening!”

I don’t know who made Caitlyn the authoritative figure in that instance, but she sure thought she was in charge!

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

There was a story out of California this week about a man who was mauled almost to death by a cougar. I read the story, cringed, and then promptly forgot about it. Or so I thought…….

Last night I had the most horrific dream that I can remember having in a long, long time. I was taking the kids to the zoo to see the animals and I held Caitlyn a little too close to the cougar cage and it somehow slipped its head out between the bars and got a hold of the top of her head. I remember being paralyzed with fear as I watched the beast sink its teeth into her little head and then I started screaming. It was all a bit too real for me as people came running to help. Then came the second part of my worst fears — we had to airlift her to a hospital and I was supposed to follow in a tiny two-person airplane. Anyone who knows me knows that I am terrified of heights and the thought of flying makes me sick to my stomach. But I did it anyway because my baby needed me.

I must have been shaking something awful because the next thing I knew my husband was waking me up to see what was wrong. The dream was still so real that I couldn’t even tell him right away. All I could do was run into the kids’ room to make sure they were both okay.

So what does this dream say about me as a parent? I’ve been turning that around in my head all morning trying to figure out. Do I worry about my kids too much? Or perhaps it’s simply a case of me remembering what I read and that having it translate into my worst fears.

Does any one else ever had nightmares about their kids?

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

I was reading a brochure this morning for preschool and kindergarten programs and came across something called “Young Fives.” I guess I’ve been out of the education loop for a long time because I had no idea what that was.

Apparently, it seems to be a pre-kindergarten, post-preschool class that most kids are attending to prepare for kindergarten, which they then enter as 6-year-olds. Huh???? How much preparation do kids actually need for kindergarten of all things? I remember coloring and playing with blocks and learning new songs. That doesn’t sound too difficult to me.

So after doing a Google search on this “Young Fives” thing, I came across an interesting article from 1987 that talks about how parents are becoming so competitive that they are pushing their kids to learn more at a faster pace. I’m sure that from this pressure to succeed stems the development of pre-kindergarten classes.

Whatever happened to kids getting to be kids? Why do we as a society need to steal their childhood away from them so that they can learn how to do multiplication tables before they turn 5? Kids are only little once … why make them grow up so fast?

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

Okay, weather! Just a little bit more snow and we’ll be set to make that snowman! Oh, and if it could perhaps be, oh I don’t know, not quite so cold out there, that would be fabulous, too! I have small children, NOT polar bear cubs!

I’m thinking that perhaps tomorrow or Tuesday we’ll have time to get out there and have some winter fun! If it doesn’t all melt first……

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

Clothes shopping for my kids is difficult and stores aren’t making things any easier for me when they start putting away their winter clothes in the fall and displaying their summer goods in the winter. Kids do grow you know and — surprise, surprise — need warm clothing in the winter and lighter things in the summer.

My latest challenge was finding blanket sleepers for Keegan, who is also known as “Andre the Giant” or “Bam-Bam” from the Flintstones around our house. He is just growing so fast I can hardly keep up! I had to go through his clothing again this week and weed out a ton of things that no longer fit. This left me with probably about 3 or 4 blanket sleepers that still fit. (A blanket sleeper is a pair of pajamas that have feet at the bottom; they also usually have a zipper from the top to the bottom.) In the winter, these keep kids nice and cuddley warm.

The problem I have here is two-fold: 1.) Stores are putting out their spring/summer lines already and 2.) For some reason 12-mo. sleepers are hard to find. It seems like all I could find was either 9 mo. clothing or 2-4T. Grrrrrrr. And I tried looking at Kmart, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, Meijer and Target!

But yesterday, I got an e-mail from Carter’s. Now if you’ve never been to the Carter’s store out at the Manufacturer’s Marketplace off of LaPlaisance Rd., then you are really missing out! The e-mail stated that they are having a sale on all their playclothes and also gave me a 20-percent-off-any-one-item coupon. I high-tailed it out there as soon as I got off of work yesterday and I couldn’t believe all the good deals! I even purchased Caitlyn two pairs of summer shorts for $1.99 each because I knew if I waited a few months those same shorts would most likely be $15 each. ….

So, for $42, here’s what I got:

4 blanket sleepers for Keegan

1 everyday play outfit for Keegan

1 bib for Keegan

1 pair of fuzzy pants for Caitlyn

2 pairs of shorts for Caitlyn

and 1 pair of sunglasses for my little guy

I love Carter’s.

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

I can see out my window that it is finally starting to snow a bit — nothing really substantial that will stick around; just light, fluffy snowglobe snow. Blah. Why bother?

I have yet to take Caitlyn outside to build a snowman or make a snow angel. And I’m not just talking this year. I mean EVER in her whole little life. For her first Christmas I bought her two round snow discs that hook together for sledding. I couldn’t wait to take her out to Munson Park and glide down the snow-covered hill with her. Unfortunately, those discs are doing nothing more than collecting dust in our garage because they’ve never seen the light of day.

I just don’t get it. This is Michigan! And it is winter! Where is all the snow?!

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

I wish I could always look at chores through the eyes of a child. I remember once when I was about 5 or 6 years old and I was standing on a stepstool next to my mom doing the dishes and I told her “This is so much fun! I wish I could wash dishes forever!” She looked at me and said that she would remind me of that when I was older. Man, do I hate to wash dishes now!

This morning, Caitlyn wanted to help me throw a load of laundry into the washing machine. As she was tossing in towels and bibs and socks she exclaimed, “Mommy, I love helping with laundry! Laundry is fun!!”

I will have to remember to tell her she said that when she hits the teen-age years and can’t find any clean clothes.

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

I was just talking to a co-worker about this issue and I wanted to get some more thoughts…..

Keegan weighs a little more than 20 pounds and his feet are hanging WAY over the edge of his infant carrier. He really is getting to be too big for it. Now the problem lies in the fact that babies are supposed to stay in a rear-facing car seat until they are at least 20 pounds and 1 year old. But what do you do with a 6-month-old who already is 20 pounds and his feet and legs are getting squished against the back of the seat?! I don’t know if he is ready to be put in a forward facing seat yet, but something has to be done because it can’t be safe either to have his legs all bunched up with nowhere to go.

What should I do?

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

Amazing how in the summer Caitlyn loves to dunk her head under the water to get the front of her hair wet, and yet when I try to rinse the shampoo out of her hair with a cup she screams like a banshee. Yeah, that makes sense.

By Shawna Schmitt, sschmitt@monroenews.com

Perhaps I’m just a paranoid mommy (but better safe than sorry, right?), but when I’m out and about with Caitlyn, I never take my eyes off her. I know where she is at all times and what she’s doing. If we’re walking on a sidewalk next to a street or we’re in a parking lot, she has to hold my hand so she doesn’t dart off in front of a car. If my hands are too full and I can’t take her hand, she knows that she is to stand right next to me and hold onto the bottom of my coat. She thinks it’s a fun game.

So what brings about this rant? People who ignore their children in public. I’m not one to tell other people how to raise their kids, but I do worry for the child’s safety when he or she is left to do their own thing.

I see it happen all the time. At the library, a parent will be busy on the computer and the child is free to wander around all alone. I would never in a million years dream to tell Caitlyn to go play while I check my e-mail in a public building.

Yesterday as Caity and I were walking around the mall I saw a little boy who couldn’t have been older than 10 pushing a stroller with a small child in it while another kid who looked to be around 5 walked next to them. No parent was in sight. A 10-year-old is too young to have that big of a responsibility in a public place.

Perhaps I’m a little too cautious in keeping an eye on my kids, but parents, please be careful with your little ones. There are just too many crazy people out there in the world … and where my kids are concerned I don’t trust many of them.