My Personal 'Mummy Rules'!!!
Brings back some really comforting memories seeing your kids come home from school, running out in the backyard to chase lizards, climb trees and then sit in the back porch to eat sugar cane with their Grandpa while he chops the little cane sticks for them with his cutlass....I mean....has the world really changed?? Or have we?!? I look at that and think, that's my childhood right there infront of me....it's identical....
After making this observation and having my mind and heart flooded with the many adventures and excitements that were part of my childhood, most of which took place in our very own backyard growing up, I think about children today and the statement that somewhat irritates me a little everytime I hear it from a young child..."I'm bored". Why are children today always so 'bored'??? Almost everytime I ask a modern day child, "How was your school vacation??", the response would almost always be "Reallyyy boring!!"
The world is supposed to be thrilling, limitless and amazing at this age!!! What are we doing to our kids?!!??
So here are a few of my personal 'Mummy Rules'... Will keep updating as often as I can Inshaa Allah;)
1) Bring back the handmade sling shots, tree houses and tree sticks - please stop using the phrase "That's not age appropriate!" and "That will take your brother's eye out! Drop that stick!" and "Put down that stone, you'lI drop it on your toes!" I mean come on, obviously there are limits to what you let your child play with and 'how' they play with it, but come on, a stick??? As in a little branch that fell off the orange tree? You might as well tell the kid to sit in a corner, watch the trees and twiddle your thumbs...
2) Relax! It's just 'dirt' not 'Toxic radioactive material'....
3) One or two ant bites aren't deadly - Throw a little cool water on the bite and teach, particularly boy children, to brush these things off and move on.
4) Life CAN go on without 'Lysol' - really Moms and Dads, trust me on this one, there really was a world before this. Germs are not really the enemy, lack personal hygiene is the enemy. So don't panic when the lysol is empty...panic when you see the kids using the toilet and not washing their hands, or rolling in the mud and then rubbing their eyes, etc
5) Not every child that climbs a tree will fall off - Both myself and my children must have climbed a total of 50 trees combined throughout our lifetimes and the only time I fell was off of a ladder, not a tree;)
6) Running will not cause your child to develop asthma
7) Letting your kids run/walk/play in the sun will not instantly give them heat stroke and/or give them sun burn.
8) Cookies are not evil, let the poor kid have a cookie every now and then...sheesh...
9) Let boy children wrestle, rump and have ruff fun sometimes - Play fighting doesn't break bones... encountering bullies in school and having boys who can't defend and stand-up for themselves however, WILL break bones;)
10) If I don't talk to my kids about their day and show an interest in their daily activities, why in the world would I expect them to pay any attention to me and what I have to say?!???
11) Parents need to take children on lots of family leisure trips, picnics and car rides to fun places....because realistically speaking, the alternative is just sitting at home and staring at eachother until that brief 'childhood' period is gone and it's too late...;)
After making this observation and having my mind and heart flooded with the many adventures and excitements that were part of my childhood, most of which took place in our very own backyard growing up, I think about children today and the statement that somewhat irritates me a little everytime I hear it from a young child..."I'm bored". Why are children today always so 'bored'??? Almost everytime I ask a modern day child, "How was your school vacation??", the response would almost always be "Reallyyy boring!!"
The world is supposed to be thrilling, limitless and amazing at this age!!! What are we doing to our kids?!!??
So here are a few of my personal 'Mummy Rules'... Will keep updating as often as I can Inshaa Allah;)
1) Bring back the handmade sling shots, tree houses and tree sticks - please stop using the phrase "That's not age appropriate!" and "That will take your brother's eye out! Drop that stick!" and "Put down that stone, you'lI drop it on your toes!" I mean come on, obviously there are limits to what you let your child play with and 'how' they play with it, but come on, a stick??? As in a little branch that fell off the orange tree? You might as well tell the kid to sit in a corner, watch the trees and twiddle your thumbs...
2) Relax! It's just 'dirt' not 'Toxic radioactive material'....
3) One or two ant bites aren't deadly - Throw a little cool water on the bite and teach, particularly boy children, to brush these things off and move on.
4) Life CAN go on without 'Lysol' - really Moms and Dads, trust me on this one, there really was a world before this. Germs are not really the enemy, lack personal hygiene is the enemy. So don't panic when the lysol is empty...panic when you see the kids using the toilet and not washing their hands, or rolling in the mud and then rubbing their eyes, etc
5) Not every child that climbs a tree will fall off - Both myself and my children must have climbed a total of 50 trees combined throughout our lifetimes and the only time I fell was off of a ladder, not a tree;)
6) Running will not cause your child to develop asthma
7) Letting your kids run/walk/play in the sun will not instantly give them heat stroke and/or give them sun burn.
8) Cookies are not evil, let the poor kid have a cookie every now and then...sheesh...
9) Let boy children wrestle, rump and have ruff fun sometimes - Play fighting doesn't break bones... encountering bullies in school and having boys who can't defend and stand-up for themselves however, WILL break bones;)
10) If I don't talk to my kids about their day and show an interest in their daily activities, why in the world would I expect them to pay any attention to me and what I have to say?!???
11) Parents need to take children on lots of family leisure trips, picnics and car rides to fun places....because realistically speaking, the alternative is just sitting at home and staring at eachother until that brief 'childhood' period is gone and it's too late...;)