Worm composter and repotting, face paint thinking aloud, and motivating Laurel.

[oddharmonic]

We let the worm composter go for awhile without regular attention, so we're restarting three trays this weekend. Laurel enjoys helping with the worms, so I'm only helping minimally this round. (My knees are thankful for that.) Some of the finished compost will be going to repot the ficus plants and restart the potted grass for the cat. The

Comments

[polyhymnia]

NVC is a great book! That stuff is really widely applicable, too.

[ex_passerine551]

You do the neatest things!

[oddharmonic]

I do the weirdest things, according to the kids that know me from Cub Scouts. I tell them the awesome part about being a grownup is that you can keep worms in the kitchen and nobody checks to see if you've washed behind your ears.

rambles on the "experts" advice to hover over the little ones.

[leucotheasveil]

What sort of headaches is the wee one giving you?

Pretty cool that new music is a good reward for her. I worry when kids get rewarded with junk food or video games all the time. "Here, honey for behaving in a healthy/pro-social way, allow me to present something to completely cancel it out."

I think hitting the kids with a belt or telling them they are bad kids who are going to hell was not the cutting edge in child rearing technology, but the new "ultra kinder gentler" approach seems to really be showing its weaknesses as well. Sure, a hungry, wet or sick child should be promptly tended to, but sometimes a baby cries for the sake of crying, or forgets what it was crying for and doesn't stop. It needs to learn to calm itself down and the world won't end if it's left to nap all alone.

I read an article about how the recent crops of new hires are actually bringing their mothers to their job interviews, or daddy is calling the boss and yelling at him for not giving pweshus a raise or what have you. Could you imagine? I would have

Re: rambles on the "experts" advice to hover over the little ones.

[oddharmonic]

Laurel's doing age-appropriate acting out: talking back, dragging her feet on easy tasks, stuff like that. Her team at school isn't too worried about it, but I want to do what I can to circumvent the high intelligence/low performer issue. There will be a session on it at our district gifted association's annual symposium, so I plan to attend. It's free with our annual membership and there's a kids' session in science, so we're going

Re: rambles on the "experts" advice to hover over the little ones.

[leucotheasveil]

Sounds like you have got the "best practice" approach, and a good handle on it, to use the lingo

[leucotheasveil]

btw, I was not critiquing your parenting style or anything, just ranting on
how the "modern" parenting advice books are guilting parents who could be good parents if they didn't follow those darned books.

[oddharmonic]

I know. I felt guilty when Laurel was little about how I felt like I was failing her by not giving her enough social stimulation (we went to one mommy and me group and had a terrible time), not dressed impeccably every day, etc. until my mother asked me what I remember about my early childhood.

What I remembered: being allowed to look at any book in the house as long as I was gentle with the book, drawing on paper taped to the wall, playing in the fabric scraps, and looking out the window. I don't remember whether we went to playgroup every week or even most of my clothing, although I remember a few special dresses and a shirt that had a pair of birds appliquéd on it. (I have a photo of my sister in that shirt online if you're curious.)

So I don't think Laurel's too deprived by not doing all the things the books recommended -- she's still clever, inquisitive, and has average fine motor skills, which makes for terribly funny puppets that she cuts out of polarfleece scraps and I sew together per her directions.

[leucotheasveil]

Oh, my favorite "toys" were sheer fabric scraps, old ballet recital costumes and a tin of assorted buttons at my Grandmother's!

I loved making "hotels" and other things for my strawberry shortcake dolls out of stacked boxes and old coffee tables, and making menus, books and signs out of paper.

There were a few toys and name brand things I pined after but never got, but I do remember mom never said no to a book fair.
I never lacked for things to read.

I remember being upset with knockoff Benetton and Swatch clothes, and some that were so ugly I was mortified to wear them (one was pink and purple with like a tetris-type checker print. It was hideous) but that built character. I dress better now, but know how to find things on sale.