Nope, not breast milk.
Not any new-fangled educational toy.
Not expensive enrichment brain-boosting classes either.
The Best Gift a Mother Can Give Her Child is... a Happy Mother.
It sounds simple but it is incredibly hard to do.
I learnt it the hard way. And like the last-in-class student, I keep having to re-learn it!
When my little girl was born, I thought that by sacrificing my rest/hobbies/me-time/enjoyment, I was loving her. The resulting stay-at-home-monster that was created soon taught me otherwise. I wondered why I was turning into an frazzled, irritable maniac. So much for those idyllic scenes of a mother singing lullabies and rocking their peaceful children to sleep, a contented smile on her face. I learnt that if I took a few hours to pamper myself and do what I wanted to do, guilt-free, the Happy Mother returning home from a nature walk/lunch date/outing was a far better gift than any supposedly noble sacrifice. And the best thing: it would be a win-win situation.
Five years later, I'm faced with the same issue again. Here I am, homeschooling my two lovely children and terrorizing them in the name of "doing what is best".
We've been busy moving house. In the last few weeks, my days were spent renovating, cleaning, packing and unpacking, loading and unloading... and in order to give them the best, we continued to eat meals at home and continue homeschooling and household chores. The stay-at-home-monster who disappeared a few years back re-emerged as a stay-at-home Mega Monster!
Once again, I picked up my five-year-old copy of 'Screamfree Parenting' by Hal Edward Runkel. I had initially borrowed it from the library but it proved effective in eradicating stay-at-home-monsters so I bought myself a copy to keep. It brought up an interesting concept:
"I love me for your benefit."
It seems counter-intuitive but I've come to see the wisdom in it. By loving yourself first, you ensure that you are a calm, balanced and happy caregiver, and only then can you truly be a blessing and inspirational role-model to your children.
A burnt-out, frazzled and overburdened mother is more of a liability and may do more damage than good. Love yourself so you can love others.
We declared a 1-Week No-Packing holiday to Restore Sanity. :)
Not any new-fangled educational toy.
Not expensive enrichment brain-boosting classes either.
The Best Gift a Mother Can Give Her Child is... a Happy Mother.
It sounds simple but it is incredibly hard to do.
I learnt it the hard way. And like the last-in-class student, I keep having to re-learn it!
When my little girl was born, I thought that by sacrificing my rest/hobbies/me-time/enjoyment, I was loving her. The resulting stay-at-home-monster that was created soon taught me otherwise. I wondered why I was turning into an frazzled, irritable maniac. So much for those idyllic scenes of a mother singing lullabies and rocking their peaceful children to sleep, a contented smile on her face. I learnt that if I took a few hours to pamper myself and do what I wanted to do, guilt-free, the Happy Mother returning home from a nature walk/lunch date/outing was a far better gift than any supposedly noble sacrifice. And the best thing: it would be a win-win situation.
Five years later, I'm faced with the same issue again. Here I am, homeschooling my two lovely children and terrorizing them in the name of "doing what is best".
We've been busy moving house. In the last few weeks, my days were spent renovating, cleaning, packing and unpacking, loading and unloading... and in order to give them the best, we continued to eat meals at home and continue homeschooling and household chores. The stay-at-home-monster who disappeared a few years back re-emerged as a stay-at-home Mega Monster!
Once again, I picked up my five-year-old copy of 'Screamfree Parenting' by Hal Edward Runkel. I had initially borrowed it from the library but it proved effective in eradicating stay-at-home-monsters so I bought myself a copy to keep. It brought up an interesting concept:
"I love me for your benefit."
It seems counter-intuitive but I've come to see the wisdom in it. By loving yourself first, you ensure that you are a calm, balanced and happy caregiver, and only then can you truly be a blessing and inspirational role-model to your children.
A burnt-out, frazzled and overburdened mother is more of a liability and may do more damage than good. Love yourself so you can love others.
We declared a 1-Week No-Packing holiday to Restore Sanity. :)
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