{"id":1676,"date":"2017-09-21T19:55:10","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T19:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mumblog.co.uk\/?p=1676"},"modified":"2023-09-15T16:55:32","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T16:55:32","slug":"wtf-was-i-thinking-parenting-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mumblog.co.uk\/wtf-was-i-thinking-parenting-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"“WTF Was I Thinking” Parenting Moments"},"content":{"rendered":"
You would think after five years and two children that I would have mastered the basics of this parenting thing by now, and that I would have become adept at avoiding simple parenting rooky errors. Sadly, I haven\u2019t, which may explain why last week, in a moment of madness, I left my five year old unattended for a few moments with an open pot of glitter stars. One week later, and I am still finding the damn things. So far, they have been located in my five year old\u2019s bed, my trainers, the fruit bowl, the tumble dryer lint tray, and inside my toddler\u2019s dirty nappy. It remains a mystery as to whether the star worked its way into the nappy from the outside\u2026or got their by, ahem, other means.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not an idiot, I know that I shouldn\u2019t have left my son with the glitter, and that it was just inviting disaster \u2013 my main problem seems to stem from forgetfulness, no doubt fuelled by sleep deprivation. I forgot that my son should not be left unsupervised with glitter, just like I forgot that my son is incapable of going near water without going in it and therefore should be in wellies at all times, and just like I forgot that if I take my daughter out of the bath and leave her without a nappy for two-minutes she will wee all over the bathroom floor. All of these scenarios are ones where if I thought about it carefully in advance, I would know what the correct procedure should be, but for some reason, when faced with two very strong-willed children, my brain freezes, I become reactive rather than proactive, and later, I turn to my husband and say \u201cWhat was I thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n
Whilst many of my “WTF” moments are instant, others are long, drawn out affairs, where my course to disaster is unswayed by the quizzical glances from my friends, or their not so subtle comments of \u201cyou\u2019re brave to try that with your kids”. In these situations, I forget<\/em> that I have to approach tasks differently now I have kids. It\u2019s a lesson I am still learning. Still, as I keep hearing from friends and family who listen to me after wail \u201cWTF was I thinking\u201d, at least I\u2019ll have funny stories to tell my children when they are older, including:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That moment when, on a journey home through a rural area with no chance of a baby changing facility I decided that my then 9 month old son with suspected food intolerances would be fine to wait ten-minutes in his dirty nappy until I got home, given that option B involved pulling over on a country lane and changing him on the backseat. It was apparent when we arrived home and needed to replace the car seat covers that I should have gone for option B.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That moment when I agreed to host a play date for seven toddlers \/ pre-schoolers and gave the older children free reign upstairs in my son\u2019s room with his Lego. There was Lego in the bath. There was Lego in the toilet. And, despite my strict instructions \u201cnot to open Mummy\u2019s bedroom door\u201d there was Lego, a sock, and a lot of biscuit crumbs in my bed.<\/p>\nThe Poonami<\/h2>\n
The Playdate<\/h2>\n
The Ikea Trip<\/h2>\n