Never Talking About Immunizations Again :)

I was watching Good Morning America today and one of the clips was about a blog writing mommy. She said that she almost killed her 3 year old daughter. That was the first line on her blog. I guess it has captured the attention of thousands. The story is about a mom who is heavily into technology and multi tasking all day long. Her 3 year old was taking a bath and the mom ran to check her email. When she came back, the little girl was fast asleep in the tub. She was ok, as she was just leaning on the side of the tub, not in the water.

This got me thinking.....

We don't ever leave Brinley unattended in the tub but we do other things that I think need to be changed. We are all into technology, our cell phones, our computers, social media and yes, blogging. :) There are times when Brinley is playing and I am texting or checking Facebook. I should be playing with her and capturing all of these moments. She is only a little girl for so long and before I know it, she will be starting school. I remember when I was younger and we played outside. We drove without talking on our cell phones. We didn't have the internet. We didn't have an under the counter dishwasher. :) We had a Commodore 64 with a  broken joystick. We sat at the dinner table every night and ate together. We played board games as a family. We went camping. We went fishing. We called people on the phone to wish them Happy Birthday. We walked to the store. We were only allowed so much television time. We watched shows that were appropriate to our age group. We would ring doorbells in the neighbourhood and see if the kids could play. We set up lemonade stands. We ran through the sprinkler. We made our own version of a Slip n Slide. We left the doors unlocked. We welcomed people into our home, no matter their race, religion or colour.  We had to pay for our vehicles. We had to pay for our gas. We had to pay dues to live in our parent's homes. We had a chore chart. We had routine and a schedule. We had a mom who prepared our lunches every night before school. We had a mom who cooked us dinner every night. We had Friday night Dominos's Pizza night.

Thought I should add some crazy hair pictures from the past!

I miss those times. I am embarrassed to say that we have a very nice kitchen table with 4 chairs but we eat in front of the television on TV trays, with the TV on, usually watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. :) Brinley sits in her high chair and also watches TV. We need to change all of this because this isn't how I see my family. Once the basement is completed and we can move some stuff out of the kitchen, we WILL eat at the table with the TV turned off. I miss so many of the things that we used to do as a family and as kids. It is so important for the girls to go outside and play. It is important that we teach them to call people and not just text and send Facebook messages. It's sad that some of my closest friends have texted me on my birthday instead of calling to sing the happy tune. I am also to blame. I have texted too. I don't like it. Important announcements have come over text and Facebook. I want to hear the excitement in a friend's voice when she has great news. I want them to hear my joy and support for them during this wonderful time in their lives.

Times have changed. Family time isn't a priority for some families. When I was teaching, some students never ate dinner with their family. They would get their plate and go watch TV or go to their bedroom. Nobody was asking about their day. Kids compared how many video game consoles they had and which games they owned....it was a competition.
What happened to going outside and playing with your hoola hoop? What happened to grabbing your toys and taking them to the field and enjoying some imaginative play with your friends? I would hear from families that the kids would come home, do homework, eat dinner, watch TV, play video games, chat on Facebook then go to bed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

I guess this is the same as what the mommy blogger did. Almost killing her 3 year old. This is what is happening today. We are killing our children. They are unhealthy and zombies. Families are so hung up on multitasking that we aren't realizing what it is doing to our children. We are emailing at the dinner table. Texting while in the middle of a conversation. Uploading pictures to Facebook when we should be playing with the kids. Writing a blog when your 19 month old is watching Barbie. :) Now, don't get me wrong, I have been lazy at times and I don't always eat healthy and I am not perfect. I guess I kind of mentioned that above. I make mistakes. I am working on eating better and have lost 30 pounds since Adele's arrival. Brinley eats good food and would rather munch on a piece of fruit than a cupcake. She has eaten McDonald's. She has sat in front of the TV, but since our lives have settled a bit and I am no longer pregnant and feeling awful, we get out a lot more. We do things as a family. We want the girls to breathe in fresh air. We want our girls to grow up healthy. We want them to experience life. Will it always be perfect? No way. As I have said before, I will mess up and make big mistakes. I will get frustrated and mad but I will always try to make it right and to give our girls the lives that they deserve.

I know some of you do make great choices in regards to your kids and family. Some families don't own televisions, no Xbox, no Playstations and their kids have no choice but to go outside. Some of you own every piece of technology known to man but you moderate your child's usage. Hopefully this blog will maybe shed some light on those who don't sit down enough with your children and talk about life. It's time for some changes. These are the moments that your child will remember when they start their own family.

So maybe it's all about moderation. Maybe it's about finding a balance. Maybe it's about cherishing these moments. Maybe it's about really learning about our kids. Maybe it's about leaving the laundry until after bedtime. Maybe it's about bringing these miracles into the world and realizing that it is our job to be the best parents that we can be for our children.
Hmmmm.....mind you, for some, maybe the best parents that they can be is buying the games and not spending quality time with their children. I think I may start going in circles with this one....

If I had my child to raise over again
I'd build self-esteem first and the house later
I'd finger paint more and point the finger less
I would do less correcting and more connecting
I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes
I would care to know less and know to care more
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites
I'd stop playing serious and seriously play
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars
I'd do more hugging and less tugging
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often
I would be firm less often and affirm much more
I'd model less about the love of power
And more about the power of love.
Diane Loomans


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If you want to rank my blog or leave a comment.....I am in the Special Needs section....I am number 13, I need to get to number 1! I am not doing this for my ego, I am doing this because this journey is important to me, it is important to share and to hopefully educate, entertain and show others that it can be done. I've said for a while now that these two girls, with the help of family and friends, will change the world! :)