*Sigh, Parenthood

Parenthood! It can make you crazy! EVERYTHING has a balance. You can do too much of a good thing or not enough of a good thing or even too much of a bad thing! If you do too much its bad. If you do too little its bad. It's all about BALANCE. lol. 

Take attention, for example. If you give your kid too much attention you make them (Jessie's opinion) little attention seeking life suckers. They won't ever let you have a minute to yourself. You will end up being their little personal slave. Wiping their rear, making their bed, cleaning their room, brushing their teeth for them. It can get to be exhausting! I know, because I used to do all of that for my now five year-old. What it did was made him incapable of doing things for himself. I've had to seriously back off and let him "man" up and do a little work. Responsibility can be a child's best friend. But, there's that balance issue again. You can't have too much. Just like I said- parenting, it's a crazy balance.

Lets say you don't give your kid enough attention. They start crying out for it in all the wrong ways. Did you know that you kid will actually misbehave just so you will put forth the attention to discipline them? Sad, isn't it? Your kid would literally do something wrong just so they could get your attention. We have to be careful we don't let them get into this "red zone". If you notice your child starting to act a little wild and not like they usually do it could be because they need a little mommy time :) Usually I'll look at my son and say, "Do you need a little time with mommy to do something?" Of course the response is, "Yes." Usually accompanied by puppy dog eyes. :)

It can be hard to find that balance. Work, School, Housework, Our spouses.....they can pull us in a thousand directions, but loving your child by showing them affection and attention everyday is something they can't live without. It's like a plant with no water. If you want them to grow into the beautiful flowers and...."boy flowers" you know they can be, put in the effort to be there and present. :)

with love and encouragement,

Jessie