And it got me to thinking. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an app for motherhood. A lovely list of items for you to tick off. And at the end of the day, you could sigh with relief and pleasure and say to yourself, "I was a good mother today" instead of laying in your bed at night filled with guilt or worry because you thought you hadn't done enough or were to impatient or distracted.
Let's make our list together, shall we? I would really love to see you additions/subtractions and comments on this.
I'm going to use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to get started and then I'm branching out from there. I'm slanting this for the stay-at-home mom with a three year old.
Food:
Over the course of 3 meals and 1-2 snacks, offer water, two cups of milk, 1 cup of fruits, 1 1/2 cups of veggies, 3 ounces of meat/beans and 4 ounces of grains. Limit solid fat and sugars. (taken from the My Pyramid website) You lose star points if you offer too much candy throughout the day.
Sleep:
Pre-nap routine
Bedtime routine
Kiddo should sleep 10-14 hours in a 24 hour period.
Cleanliness:
Did I keep her clean throughout the day?
Security:
Did I create a safe and secure environment for her?
Love/Belonging:
Did I create an atmosphere of love and belonging?
Friendship:
Did I provide opportunities for her to make friends?
Esteem:
Did I provide opportunities for her to build self esteem and confidence?
Did I provide specific praise?
Was I kind? Was I patient?
Discipline:
If there were discipline issues, did I reinforce established boundaries in a good way?
Stimulation/Education:
This one if THE BIG ONE for me. This is the one that can give my night sweats and make me wonder if Kylie would be better served in a pre-school. Feel free to add your own ideas.
Spend 20 minutes or more each day reading stories together.
Provide a craft each day (coloring books count). Extra points if there is glue involved.
Work on ABC's and Numbers
Work on problem solving and memory
Get actively involved in her pretend play. Be the tickle monster, fairy queen, or whatever story she wants to act out.
Play hide-and-seek with her.
Expose her to different experiences like museums and zoos.
Television/computer/iphone time:
Did she watch one hour?
Two hours? More?
Exercise/Play:
Did she get at least 30-60 minutes of exercise?
Sports:
Attend the swimming, gymnastics, soccer, dance, t-ball or whatever sport class you have scheduled.
What do you think? I know there should be more but my mind has shut down. Kylie ate one blueberry and two bites of bacon and now we need to get ready for art class. Yeesh. I'm tired already and it's just 9am.
And for those of you who come to the blog just to see a cute Kylie picture, here you go.
5 comments:
Great post! I'm also a SAHM of three-year-old, and worry about the same things. I do have my daughter in preschool and she's not interested in learning yet, she'd rather. It's only five hours a week and much more of a break for me than anything. As long as she's in a few programs, she'll do fine!
GREAT pic!!! She's so cute.
Don't forget music on your stimulation list! *gringrin* It's such an invaluable teaching tool.
And, I give a special thumbs up to the problem-solving! It's sadly overlooked in a lot of early childhood education... Kids have amazing grasp of logic once they learn how to apply it -- and often without guidance they end up applying it in their own very amusing (though often woefully misdirected) ways. :P
Your idea is certain to make millions! Develop the Motherhood App, then retire! You definitely have a lot to think about and do in a day!
Judging by how happy your Kylie looks, you are doing an awfully good juggling all of that!
Great cute picture!! Always a welcome addition to your posts!
I loved your idea of a mothering app! As an addition I'd suggest involving her in decision making (which I'm sure you do without thinking but always good to be aware) to raise self-esteem and confidence.
Always seems like you're doing the most amazing job though - she looks such a content little girl. I just hope I can help my little boy to be just as happy when he's Kylie's age
love it! you really SHOULD look into making it an application - great idea!
unfortunately, i would probably fail on most accounts most days -- but, for the most part, adam is a happy camper and i enjoy/adore him immensely. kylie is most definitely a happy camper, too, and it's so obvious how adored she is. the learning comes from the every day activities that she enjoys with you. =)
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