The last time I posted, I wrote about how my three year old, the Duchess, is losing her nap - and I am losing my valuable free time. (Hence my lack of posts!). I sought the advice of others and was told instead, "Hey, if you hear anything good, let me know." Clearly this is an issue for many people! Here is a tabulation of my experiments. Talk about them with your friends. Brainstorm. And then, if you hear anything good, let me know!
Some suggested putting the kid in his room with a timer and not letting him come out until it goes off. This appeals to the strict mom in my heart: "You WILL have quiet time!" However, this won't work for several reasons. First, logistically, I'm not set up for it. The Duchess shares a room with Honey, who still has a looooong nap. So having a shrieking kiddo won't do. I also strongly believe in choosing battles, and I'm not sure I want to battle her out to sit in her room, when I know I might get 10 minutes out of it.
I did try a softie version - "Duchess, it's resting time now. You can choose to rest in your own bed or in mommy's bed." I thought this was rather clever - focusing on what she got to choose and not my request of her. I let her bring as many books and quiet toys in as she wanted. And then I went out to watch Revenge (yes, instead of writing my blog post. I am sorry).
But I was outsmarted by the three year old. Five minutes later she came out and said, "I miss you." (How can I resist that?) So I let her sit on the sofa. I figured, she doesn't really get what's going on. Then there was a scene in a girlie bar. I started to get a little nervous about exposing my daughter to such images, but didn't want to make a big deal and then have HER wonder what the big deal was...and maybe, I thought, she really wasn't paying attention.
"Look, that lady is a policeman!" pointed out the Duchess helpfully. I wasn't sure how to reply, as the character in question, insofar as she was wearing any clothes, was indeed costumed as an officer of the law. Sort of. Yikes.
In the spirit of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," I then decided to let her stay up during her old naptime, but to try to use that time to be a Tiger Mom. After lunch, I told the Duchess she could play quietly at her craft table while I put Honey down for her nap. Then, I came out with my Hooked on Phonics book and attempted to go over rhymes.
"Here is a picture of a..." I would say helpfully.
"Bat!" the Duchess would respond.
"What rhymes with 'bat'? Does this rhyme with 'bat'?" I would say, pointing at a picture of a spoon.
"Yes!" the Duchess would exclaim.
I know some people at this juncture would just say, "Why don't you just let her watch Sesame Street and be done with it?"
It's not that I am anti-TV or anything, quite the opposite. I am pro-TV - for me. I want to watch NCIS and Top Chef and put my feet up. (And think really hard about blog ideas).
Fortunately, while we were away visiting the grandmas, the Duchess either was tired out from playing with her cousins, or preoccupied by the other relatives, so I got a little break. I'm going to just keep plugging ahead and see where this goes. And see whether the Duchess will learn what really rhymes with "spoon."
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