“I wish someone had told me” – the parenting edition – Mummascribbles

I had a brainwave whilst I was thinking up this post (from a little prompt in the wonderful Socially Savvy subscription service that Aby over at You Baby Me Mummy has), and I decided that I could probably do a whole host of these posts!

So, this one is the parenting edition. The things that us parents wished we’d been warned about before we became parents. Not in a particularly negative way – I am sure we all adore our children and have no regrets about bringing them onto this Earth, but just in a, I really wished I’d known about that so I could have been more prepared kind of way.

What I wish I’d been told

There are probably a number of things I could have chosen as my wish (2 years+ of sleep deprivation is pretty high up on the list), but there is one main thing that rears it’s head time and time again.

I wish someone had told me how hard it would be to play with my kids!

Unless you have the patience of a Saint, you probably know what I am talking about. And if you have a child like me who is FULL of imagination and loves making up games that have a million different rules to them before you can even start playing them, then you know EXACTLY what I am talking about.

Even my other half is in agreement with me on this. He often says to me just how hard he finds it playing with Zach.

Our boys are both very, very different. Whilst Oscar will happily stand and kick a ball between us for half an hour (which in fairness, gets a bit boring after a while), or hitting a ball with a bat (again, it can get a bit tedious after a while), or stacking a million wooden blocks on top of each other and then knocking them over (fun for about ten minutes), Zach loves to make up games. And I’m not talking about games that you sit down and play together, I’m talking about role play games, or even worse – shows.

There was one time a few months back that he decided to put on a show. We gave him some time to set it all up – heck I even made a little theatre window out of a box and some felt. He prepared it, got the characters ready, got the chairs out, we all sat down, and nothing happened. He hadn’t had enough planning time and we literally sat there for ten minutes waiting for the show to start. The next time he did it, it was a lot better – he did put on an actual show. But that’s only because he’d done his school Christmas performance and he’d seen it so much in rehearsals that he knew the story of the birth of baby Jesus off by heart.

There are other role play games that he makes up too. To be honest I can’t actually think of what they are, because they are usually so random that I can’t remember them. But they often involve a lot of instruction before we can even begin and a lot of me not managing to do exactly what it is that he wants me to do. And if I do try and play a normal game like football or a matching bingo game, he tries to bring in all sorts of rules and different ways to play it. And within me, there is a lot of internal swearing at why he can’t just play a game by the rules that the game already has. WHY DOES HE HAVE TO CHANGE IT?!

Of course, I know that this is just one of his traits. It probably means he is going to be some kind of leader in the future. But right now, when I just want him to stand and kick a ball to me, or put on a film without having to pretend he’s at the theatre with the lights going down and a giving it a huge introduction, it really blinking infuriates me. And I have heard and seen a lot of people saying that they find it hard to play with their kids, so I know it’s not just me. I just wish I’d known beforehand that it would be a struggle that I have to deal with. Because I honestly thought playing with them would be the most fun thing ever!

To add to my own wish, I took to my wonderful blogging community to find out what they wished they’d been told about parenting. And they have not let me down!

That I would end up giving my child chocolate just to get 10 minutes of peace!

Me, Him, The Dog and The Baby

That I’d be committing to TEN years of school runs!

Lylia Rose

That I would be permanently sleep deprived 😂

Kristine’s Blog

That when they are old enough to speak IT. DOES.NOT.STOP (mine even talks in his sleep)

Sinead Latham

That I’d never go to the toilet alone again, ever.

Adventures Of A Mama Bear

How my music tastes would change and I’d start singing along to all the TV theme tunes!

My Mummy’s Pennies

That I would watch the same episodes of whatever TV program is their favourite on repeat until I knew every word!

Something About Baby

That I wouldn’t be able to watch horror films, the news, adverts for Water Aid, without getting emotional

The Incidental Parent

That I would develop an addiction to coffee so badly caused by sleep deprivation, that if I didn’t have said coffee at certain times of the day I would get caffeine withdrawal headaches! Ouch !

Anklebiters Adventures

To just live. Be content, experience what’s happening right now, be grateful for what I have right now. Not be constantly chasing the next thing!

Also…. the words to Frozen – Let it go in advance.

The Merralls Home

That it’s ok to not be ok and to struggle, and that doesn’t mean you have failed and will get social services involved! If you do the best you can it is probably ok!

Just Average Jen

That I’d have to pick sh!t out of the bath with my bare hands… I probably would have done it anyway but I would have been less naive.

Whinge Whinge Wine

How hard potty training is. Poo in the pants isn’t fun!

Mum, That’s Me

That I’d be singing ‘baby shark doo doo’ in a quiet office

Uplifting and Inspiring Content

How many times I’d give my kids the middle finger behind their backs!

The Family Ticket

That hiding in the toilet is actually a thing you’ll do. Very occasionally. And maybe with chocolate. Just for 2 minutes peace. (They’ll still be at the door like zombies craving your brain though.)

Glasgow With Kids

That my best would be good enough! That trying to be the “perfect” parent is a myth and doesn’t exist. That every parenting journey is different and that’s ok!

Tantrums To Smiles

How hard behaviour is to deal with in public. Do you discipline like you do at home, or do you let them get away with it when you are out? Which battles do you pick?

Popitha

That having a child with Hunter Syndrome wasn’t the end of my world; it was indeed the beginning of a whole new world – a different world, not less, just different.

Also that no parent has their sh1t together, not just me !

It’s Me & Ethan

I wish someone had told me the truth!

My Boys Club

That not everyone falls in love with their baby the minute they are born. For some, love takes time to grow and that’s OK, it will come.

Me, Them and The Others

That my child would give me lip back regardless of how I tell her not to do something and I spend my afternoons counting down minutes until she calms down or it’s bedtime.

My Family Of Roses

That I was the only one judging me so harshly! And that baby wipes can clean almost any stain from any thing!

Pink Pink Bear

And the most popular answer which came up three times was…

That going to the supermarket alone is akin to a 2 week cruise!!

Dirt, Diggers and Dinosaurs

That I’d class doing the food shop alone a treat, and that my Google history would be full of 3am searches around poo colours and rashes.

Devon Mama

That a trip to do the food shopping alone would be a a treat, and often the highlight of my week!

Rock and Roll Pussycat

What is the one thing that you wish you’d been told about parenting?

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