Sometimes I’m literally sitting on the sidelines, hollering down the hall while holding down a corner of my couch. But other times, I’m with Annalyn but not really with her. I’m reading a magazine during lunch instead of chatting with her, I’m sneaking peeks at my e-mail while she’s “reading” me a story, and I’m kidding myself that two hours of TV and 15 minutes of playtime outside is good enough.
Either way, it’s no good. And I’ve got to do better.
After all, I’ve seen what happens when you space out around that kid. If you’re my husband, you end up wearing a purple tiara and agreeing that yes, he is a pretty, pretty princess.
A few ideas I’ve had to curb my laziness:
- Take Annalyn to the park for an hour after my aerobics class on Mondays and Fridays. After all, I’ll already be sweaty.
- Do a counting or ABC worksheet after lunch every day (while I wait for her to need to go potty one more time before naptime).
- Limit morning TV time to an hour – instead of letting it stretch into two.
- Make a list of summer activities to accomplish before Labor Day, ala Meg Duerksen.
I often have great intentions and, um, less-than-great follow-through. But yesterday we made play-dough, we had a princess tea party and I got down on the floor with her to play. Instead of staying up on the couch. Which is what I prefer.
We may have still played a 15-minute round of The Sleep Game (where she pretends to be my mommy and tucks me in for a nap). But come on! That’s a hard habit to break.
Do you ever struggle with parenting from the couch? How do you break out of that parenting rut?
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This article originally appeared at Giving Up on Perfect. Follow Mary and Giving Up on Perfect on Facebook.
