My kids love the water. The minute we say the magic word, “bath time,” they’re up the stairs at breakneck speeds, shedding clothing along the way. It’s actually quite impressive the way my kids can strip and run at the same time.
On occasion we are able to get our shit together and take them to the pool on the weekend. It’s been awhile since we got our shit together. This past weekend we managed it. My kids are fearless in the water. Well, my son is fearless, my daughter is mostly fearless. Apparently this is unusual. I feel like I have to be hyper-vigilant with them or else they’ll disappear underwater, huge grin in place, and drown without noticing that’s what they’re doing.
There are two completely unrelated questions that always go through my mind whenever we take our kids to the pool.
- What is the pee/snot/sweat to water ratio today?
- How do some of these parents bathe their children when a single drop of water on their little faces cause meltdowns of epic proportions?
I try not to think about that first one but I still feel like I’m swimming in luke warm kid stew.
I don’t mind pondering the second question because, to be brutally honest, it makes me feel like a superior parent. My kids are brave, other kids are cowards. Clearly I’m doing something right, and let’s face it, some days you just need to hold onto anything that makes you feel like you’re doing this parenting gig the right way.
What gives you the inner glow of feeling like a successful parent?
Wow! That pool looks awesome! You are impressive for taking them to the pool!
We’ve got a lot of great pools to choose from out here.
My kids HATE the water. It’s amazing that they like bathtime, but if a drop of water gets in their eyes, it’s screamtime. Maybe they have sensitive eyes like me — water always burns my eyes. I took Emilia to swimming lessons for a while, but I hated it as much as she did. She cried through them all. All hope is lost.
What do I do right? Hmm. That’s a good question. I’ll have to get back to you on that. The only thing that comes to mind is that I overcome a lot of social anxiety to take them places that I really don’t want to go — birthday parties, playdates, etc.
Sometimes just getting out of the house is a major accomplishment! In our case, getting the kids from the house to the van without screaming, crying, bribery, or time outs is rare and exciting.
So here’s my question: how is my son both a lover of the water AND the little weiner who cries when a droplet of bath water goes past the forehead boundary?! Now for your question…hmmm…my inner glow is basically a side effect of too much red wine, but I do enjoy when my kids say please and thank you loudly enough for other people to hear. Who raises polite kids?! This drunk girl here!
It’s always nice when they put on public displays of politeness! I’ll give you a sticker for good parenting on that one… and I agree, sometimes the only glow is from the wine!
Gonna brag here: My son plays basketball. He’s in his final year of high school and he’s good. But he hasn’t always responded well to defeat or criticism. Tonight his team was beaten in their last home game, the playoff final, by a good point spread even though it was a tough, well-fought game. Instead of pouting or sulking or blaming it on others, he took the loss with dignity. I’m a papa a-glo-glow.
That deserves a minimum of a week of glowing! I hope my kid will learn that one day…. now he just throws a temper tantrum when he loses. Then again, he’s only 4 so I probably need a few more years of concentrated effort on this one!
What makes me feel successful are those rare wonderful days where all 3 kids and I are working together to get stuff done – no crying, no fussing, no instant brother blame game. (The olders are notorious for instantly blaming their twin for causing the situation, ugh – someone else might have started it, but you perpetuated it… but I digress) These days are rare jewels that I hold dear to my heart and hope one day to make a tiara out of.
Yep, the play nice days are precious! I really wish we could get more of those.