Toddler Advice-Part Three

My wonderful hubs and wonderful kiddos.

Raising two toddlers and a newborn can be a little challenging sometimes.  Sure, there are days where I feel like a rock star mom, but there are more days where I feel slightly overwhelmed.  Through trial and error I feel I have learned a few things that could be helpful to other moms.  If you missed Part One and Part Two, check them out!  Otherwise, here is Part Three of my Toddler Advice!

1.  Limit TV time, but don't beat yourself up if your kid watches a little TV.  Now I realize that TV for kids under two is frowned upon in the medical community, but I don't think anyone with children would actually say that their kids watched zero television before two.  However, after two they say some TV time is okay, and I agree.  Should you use it as a babysitter (which i would never, ever, ever do, of course)?  No, probably not.  But is it okay if while you are preparing dinner you turn on a Dora or Gabba or Signing Time or whatever?  Yes. 

And just so we are all on the same page here......When it was 115 degrees out this past summer and I was puking my guts up non stop, my girls watched a TON of television.  They still seem normal so I am guessing it didn't hurt them too much.  The only side effect was my mommy guilt...which brings me to #2.

2.  Get over the mommy guilt.  It has been said a million times, but how does one actually avoid feeling guilty?  It isn't easy, my friends.  In fact, I just saw another article on msn.com today talking about the hundreds of chemicals you could be exposing your baby to just by decorating a nursery.  How can you not feel guilty after reading that and realizing that yep, your kid is probably breathing in a bazillion chemicals???  Well, like I said, it isn't easy.  First you should read this and this.  Then, figure out what is triggering your guilt.  Is it a certain blog, magazine, person on f/b, articles on yahoo.com,  what?  Whatever it is, eliminate the source.  If you are the only cause of your guilt, you need to spend some time evaluating why you feel the way you do?  Are some of the reasons legitimate?  If so, fix them.  Make an effort and move on.  I had to come to grips with the fact that I was not spending as much quality time with my girls during the day as I wanted.  Sure, I was here with them all. day. long.  But, I wasn't really spending time with them.  Since then I have made an effort to actually connect with them more during the day.  And, I have stopped beating myself up about it.  If none of those suggestions work, do what I do and realize that there are parents way worse than me...and in comparison to them, I am a fantastic mom!

3.  Lastly for today, embrace bandaids.  And ice packs.  I don't care if it isn't bleeding, bandaids fix everything.  And what is more important, saving money on bandaids or getting your child to stop whining and crying?  Same with the ice packs.  We have a boo boo bunny at our house and Molly gets that thing out of the freezer like 20 times a day.  It makes her stop crying pretty much instantly after she falls so I say, sure, get the bunny.  Maybe my kids are totally different, but Isabelle will cry for a bandaid for a long time.  We used to just tell her no because she wasn't bleeding, but now I just give in.  It is saving my sanity.  So stock up and when your kid gets hurt, you will thank me.

Do you have an excellent piece of advice for a mom of toddlers?  If so, I'd love to hear it!