Those who know me know that I love making lists. Paper lists. There is something so very satisfying about physically crossing items off and visually seeing the number of To Do's dwindle. Redbook magazine has a great list called "The 30 Best Things That You Can Do For Your Kids" with so many wonderful items.
1. Do not be a couch potato.
2. Be accepting of everyone.
3. Get everyone together for dinner.
4. Skip makeup sometimes.
5. Take them to work.
6. Be their watchdog.
7. Have great manners.
8. Give life a soundtrack.
9. Say no.
10. Be consistent.
11. Take great care of yourself, so your kids don’t have to.
12. Give them the money job in the kitchen. (i.e. not just peeling potatoes)
13. Teach through storytelling.
14. Don’t judge them.
15. Get them involved in community service.
16. Watch with them (referring to TV, etc).
17. Introduce them to the world of money.
18. Let them lose.
19. Make them laugh.
20. Break the dress code.
21. Tell them about the first time you got your heart broken.
22. When you’re home, unplug.
23. Learn from them.
24. Be modest.
25. Please, don’t smoke. And if it’s too late for that, quit.
26. Talk to them about sex.
27. Read together so they will learn to love books.
28. Have some faith.
29. Celebrate their inner beauty.
30. Encourage them to take risks.
Reading through the list, is it bad that I am a bit daunted? I'm already wondering if the time we spend together rolling around on the floor at home right now is stimulating enough, am I correctly laying the foundation for the amazing person that I am sure Ronan is going to be...that list of questions goes on for a while.
Now, the kid is only 8 months old so thankfully no sex talk yet and we are doing some of the items on the list already (money job in the kitchen sorted, who else de-bones the chicken?!). I suppose that I was just under-prepared for how much responsibility I would feel, always, for every aspect of this little man's life. The desire to want him to grow up happy, content and a productive member of society is constant for me and at times, overwhleming.
So, perhaps I print out the list and place it where we can read it every day to ensure that we are doing all we can. And perhaps in the process I too will gain more confidence and let go of some of the guilt (that's a whole other list).
1. Do not be a couch potato.
2. Be accepting of everyone.
3. Get everyone together for dinner.
4. Skip makeup sometimes.
5. Take them to work.
6. Be their watchdog.
7. Have great manners.
8. Give life a soundtrack.
9. Say no.
10. Be consistent.
11. Take great care of yourself, so your kids don’t have to.
12. Give them the money job in the kitchen. (i.e. not just peeling potatoes)
13. Teach through storytelling.
14. Don’t judge them.
15. Get them involved in community service.
16. Watch with them (referring to TV, etc).
17. Introduce them to the world of money.
18. Let them lose.
19. Make them laugh.
20. Break the dress code.
21. Tell them about the first time you got your heart broken.
22. When you’re home, unplug.
23. Learn from them.
24. Be modest.
25. Please, don’t smoke. And if it’s too late for that, quit.
26. Talk to them about sex.
27. Read together so they will learn to love books.
28. Have some faith.
29. Celebrate their inner beauty.
30. Encourage them to take risks.
Reading through the list, is it bad that I am a bit daunted? I'm already wondering if the time we spend together rolling around on the floor at home right now is stimulating enough, am I correctly laying the foundation for the amazing person that I am sure Ronan is going to be...that list of questions goes on for a while.
Now, the kid is only 8 months old so thankfully no sex talk yet and we are doing some of the items on the list already (money job in the kitchen sorted, who else de-bones the chicken?!). I suppose that I was just under-prepared for how much responsibility I would feel, always, for every aspect of this little man's life. The desire to want him to grow up happy, content and a productive member of society is constant for me and at times, overwhleming.
So, perhaps I print out the list and place it where we can read it every day to ensure that we are doing all we can. And perhaps in the process I too will gain more confidence and let go of some of the guilt (that's a whole other list).
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