Day 1

Challenge : Be present for your child


Well, we've done it! It's nearly bath time & then he'll be in bed. First challenge is over.

I made effort to do LOTS today, because I knew if I was sitting around the house with Z the pressure to be "present" would overwhelm me. So we went out. I bought us both some new shoes, we had a nice lunch out with my mum & then we went to our friend's house for a playdate.

Every element of the day tested my patience. My (usually) easy going toddler had a complete meltdown in Clarks. So instead of relentlessly apologising to the customers/staff/people walking by, I took Z to the corner and we had a chat about why he was feeling sad. He can't really communicate THAT well yet, but I explained about buying new shoes, and let him choose a pair with planes on. He really cheered up and I felt so pleased with us both, I'd managed to keep my focus on Z & he managed to pull himself out of his breakdown to explain that he was hungry & wanted to choose his shoes.

Yay

I also thought I'd treat him to a brand new pop up tent and tunnel. Today was about being  present, not buying presents. So when we came home I spent an hour in his new tent while he filled it with all his favourite toys.

                                                         (No, he wouldn't stay still!!)

It's amazing the difference that staying off twitter has made to our day as well. Yes, it's only been 1 day and I'll be chomping at the bit to get on there later today and say hi to all my TwitFam. But the point is that making my focus 100% about Z and his needs made my day a lot easier because I wasn't juggling.

My biggest lesson is that I shouldn't worry about everyone around me. I didn't care what the staff at Clarks thought about my son having a minor breakdown. And it's something I'll definitely try and remember for the future. Keep calm and carry on (oh, maybe that phrase will make me some money....)

It'll be interesting to try this experiment again when Z has a better vocabulary.

How has you Day 1 been?

Tomorrow, challenge #2: Punish without anger

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