Being a Mommy- All Your Dream Jobs Rolled into One
Being a Mommy- All your Dream Jobs Rolled into One
By: Finesse
YouRACreator Member
A lot of women think when they have a kid, “How am I supposed to accomplish my goals with someone depending on me 24/7?” Well, really, if you sit down and think about it, being a mom has every job you can imagine wrapped into one.
1.) Pediatrician- Milicon for gas…Tylenol for fever…
2.) Biochemist- “What the heck did you eat? What color is that?”
3.) Fashion Designer- Who else can make the “extremely worn out” look work? And then there’s: “Okay, red bib… Does this onesie still fit? Now your shoes, ummm, Nike or Baby Gap?”
4.) Bartender- No one can make and shake a bottle of Enfamil at 3am like a mommy.
5.) Maid- I know this is no one’s dream job, but reality bites and it’s apart of it. I have to mention the bad with the good.
6.) Hair dresser- “How did I get applesauce in my hair?” or “Please stop pulling mommy’s hair, baby!” And of course the fabulous look from when you first wake up in the morning after getting up to feed three times in the middle of the night.
7.) Comedian- Easy when your audience is a 3 month old that finds everything funny.
8.) Dancer- You know that silly little dance you do for/with your kid? Yep, you’re a choreographer. Now, just don’t get carried away, or else you’ll have an unexpected audience because you forgot you’re in the middle of Wal-Mart.
9.) Singer- Your rendition of Itsy Bitsy Spider or, for my sisters, nasheeds and surahs, could possibly get you a spot on American Idol… the first few audition episodes, anyway. The up side is that your kid probably doesn’t know what bad sounds like yet.
10.) Engineer- Anyone who can figure out all the toys and harnesses that children are put into deserves this title. Even diapers can be complicated for the inexperienced.
11.) Actress- You deserve an Oscar (or should I say an Elmo) for your entertaining impressions.
12.) Celebrity- Any time you enter the room, your kid freaks out like a groupie at a Michael Jackson concert or a P. Diddy fan after he’s made a successful band. Put on your shades because to your kid, you’re Angelina Jolie/Halle Berry, baby!
So who’s to say that being a mommy can’t be glamorous? No one else gets the opportunity to multi-task like that. No one else works harder and gets greater rewards. (No offense to the men. This works for the single daddies too). Take it in and enjoy, no matter how old your kid is, because you are the world to them, especially when they are young. And for Muslim children, paradise is at their mother’s feet. Enjoy every moment, even when they’re screaming their heads off, because when they become independent, you will miss every bit. Life is short, and so is childhood when you’re the mommy. Appreciate what your mothers did for you. They had it rough too, but if you’re here, they made it work alright. Any woman or girl can have kids, but only a mother will actually care for them. Be a mother, not a baby maker. Love your kids, they’re your greatest gift!
On Carefully Crafted, Bad Kids
On Carefully Crafted, Bad Kids
By: Nadirah Angail
YouRACreator Editor/Journalist
Considering that I’m not officially a parent yet, part of me feels like I don’t have the right to speak on this topic. The other part of me feels that I’ve been around enough children to know what I’m talking about. I’ll let the latter part be the bigger influence today. Children are a lot of work, period. I doubt many would dispute that statement. Even the best behaved children can make you wish they had an “Off” switch. It’s not their fault. They have to be busy, inquisitive, adventurous, and sometimes rebellious. These are the normal stages they go through so that they can develop into well adjusted adults.
So, it bothers me to see normal children, doing nothing more than what they’re supposed to at their age, being berated by their parents and called “bad.” When you’re 2 year old won’t sit down and adopts “No!” as his favorite response to anything you say, he’s not being bad. He’s exercising his newfound independence and ability to choose for himself. Of course this is frustrating, but it shouldn’t be characterized as bad. This only agitates the child and harms his budding self esteem.
If children’s behaviors aren’t viewed within the context of their developmental stages, bad behaviors are likely to be inadvertently encouraged and prolonged. Like the 5 year old that reassured me that “I’m is bad,” children begin to internalize the messages that they are exposed to the most. If all they hear is “you’re so bad,” they most definitely will be so bad. Have you ever met a child that said something about herself that you were certain she didn’t come up with on her own? (“I’m Julie. I’m 4 years old and I’m just destined for success.”) Though she clearly didn’t think this up on her own, she’s likely heard it enough that she now believes it and has no problem delivering the statement believably. The same thing happens with negative statements. That same girl could have said “I’m Julie. I’m 4 years old and I’m a bad little girl who never listens.” Which one of these seems more likely to have bad behavior?
It is absolutely crucial that children are praised and encouraged as well as disciplined. When we put our children down and only highlight their bad behaviors, the take away message becomes “I am bad. Bad is all I am capable off.”And if this is what they think of themselves, this is what they’ll display. Some children go their entire childhoods without receiving a compliment. Yet and still, their parents are always shocked at their uncontrollable conduct. They don’t see that these behaviors are the fruits of the seeds they unknowingly planted and cultivated. Children are smart and very capable, but they aren’t able to form a solid, positive self image if their parents don’t teach them how.
