Life without help
It's about 4 weeks since our help, Isti, left and we're still alive, barely.
We've gotten so used to having the extra pair of hands to help with the cleaning, washing, feeding, patting to bed that in all honesty, we've (to a certian extent) forgotten how to be parents. Back in the old days when there were families with half a dozen kids, mum and dad would still manage to find the time to handle the bunch, calm the crying and still have fun without going crazy.
Could it be that we've just got a lower tolerance for children these days? Are our nurturing skills going away like our caveman hunting abilities? Maybe it's the other way around - that we've started expecting too much from them, wanting them to be perfect when in essence they are just children and need to be able to express themselves in ways that may seem destructive, naughty and disobedient. The higher expectations you place on your child, the more stress you put on them and yourself and life can lose its fun.
We're learning to cope without Isti. And out of necessity, the older kids tend to be left to do their thing a bit more often than before, and that might be a good thing as they learn to be independent. Amber, on the other hand, cannot be left on her own too long - just the other day, Celest found her cleaning the walls of the bathroom with the toilet brush.
We've gotten so used to having the extra pair of hands to help with the cleaning, washing, feeding, patting to bed that in all honesty, we've (to a certian extent) forgotten how to be parents. Back in the old days when there were families with half a dozen kids, mum and dad would still manage to find the time to handle the bunch, calm the crying and still have fun without going crazy.Could it be that we've just got a lower tolerance for children these days? Are our nurturing skills going away like our caveman hunting abilities? Maybe it's the other way around - that we've started expecting too much from them, wanting them to be perfect when in essence they are just children and need to be able to express themselves in ways that may seem destructive, naughty and disobedient. The higher expectations you place on your child, the more stress you put on them and yourself and life can lose its fun.
We're learning to cope without Isti. And out of necessity, the older kids tend to be left to do their thing a bit more often than before, and that might be a good thing as they learn to be independent. Amber, on the other hand, cannot be left on her own too long - just the other day, Celest found her cleaning the walls of the bathroom with the toilet brush.