Is Parenting All About Common Sense?
I remember the day when I announced to the world that I am pregnant. Sure, the world rejoiced with me by sending in congratulatory messages and throwing baby showers while I was briefed by each monthly visit by my gynecologist about the development of the baby and eventually asked to attend a Lamaze class for an easy delivery.
Boy, life was a bed of roses as my better half and me used our common sense to clean up our acts of late nights and make a healthy schedule that would help our infant grow in a comfort zone.
Our lucid imaginations with regards to parenting were very obvious since we saw our parents; uncles and aunts use the same approach.
Now, that was the beginning chapter of our life. As our newborn became a toddler, the stages were very clear since a new parent could just compare notes of development from the Internet and breathe a sigh of relief to see that their toddler is on track.
The only essential elements needed at the time were lots of hugs and smiles to ensure their best growth.
Alas, the above lasted until the age of six, when the “WHY” questions started erupting and that’s when all the world’s manuals came into existence.
The turmoil of daily life would overwhelm me as my little one would rule my household with his pinky finger, and that made it difficult to hear my inner voice.
Parenting was no more of theories as I was getting lost in my own fantasies, which were replacing common sense.
Consulting Parents, reading Parenting books and talking to friends with the same age group of kids helped me develop a game plan that worked thus, helping me gain confidence as a mother.
However, I must admit; it did not work all the time.
There was a time when my kid fussed over a meal, and since my parents insisted that we eat what is cooked as a family or else we would eat that for the coming seven days; I continued with that trend.
Boy, today’s children are obstinate. He refused to eat, and the result was I was cooking the same menu for the whole week. It was a no-brainer week for me since I had only one item to cook for the remaining six days, however; towards the end of the sixth day, we all were brimming with the gobi parathas and refused to see either gobi or the paratha for the next ten days.
Alas, this episode repeated once more. However, now he relishes his paratha after being battered with these ghastly stuffed rotis.
My 2 cents
No one is a natural mother and that instinct does not come naturally thus, falling back on experts or people with experience helps since common sense is not common nor does it make sense at times.
Thus, as a mother I can either get upset about my kid’s behavior or try to find a solution to it by keeping my ego aside and sprinkle some patience to find a solution.
Ruchira Khanna is the author of Choices published on Amazon. She blogs at http://abracabadra.blogspot.com/