4 motherhood goals for my four year old
Please keep scrolling to see the pictures, if kids are not your forte or you have nothing to do with parenting. I am positive that you will enjoy the captures! Who does not love a cute home organised theme party and cute kids anyways *wink *wink
No one said it was easy being a mom; leave being a mom of two. Being a mom for the second time is easier emotionally (because you know the drill duh!) but physically far more taxing.
And when you don't have any previous examples to look upto, you are clueless! Because when you are a single child, neither you have dealt with siblings nor seen your parents bring up two kids. So I am basically learning every single day, how to juggle all and sharing my two cents on this. I know we all mommies are doing our best, but there is always scope for betterment right? So here are my four goals to be a better mom to my little one, on her fourth birthday.
1. Be more intentional with my time spent with her. When you have an elder one who needs constant guidance in her studies, the needs of the younger one gets a backseat. I feel all the time that my little one is neglected; partly because I am so overwhelmed with the elder one, household and my own work and partly because I have lesser energy. I mean when I had my first born, I was just 25 and bursting with vivacity! With time all the chores went shooting through the roof and I am forever struggling to balance everything.
So I want to be fully present, mindful and intentional with whatsover time I get to spend with her. No phone, no cooking, no yelling at her Didi for homework and no distractions. It should be wholly her time .
2. Be consistent with daily habits and rituals. This may not sound very significant but believe me, with two kids and work and household, even the most mundane of things seem challenging. There have been times (during the pandemic) that I used to be so deep into depression that brushing the tiny teeth of my little one used to seem like a painful chore.
So if we (me and my daughters) pray in the evening (something I have been trying to instill in the kids), it has to be everyday. Maintaining consistency becomes tough when routines change but I want to teach them that praying is non negotiable.
If I have a dance party every night during dinner, it better be every damn night. I have found this to be a fantastic alternative to keep my girls away from screens. They may not be learning table manners but at least they aren't consuming mindless cartoons too. This thing becomes tough during exams when I multi task teaching and feeding.
3. Be mindful of daily supplements and check ups. When the household has two medicos, the health of the near and dear ones goes for a toss. It may sound paradoxical, but it's the reality. Our kids are running far behind vaccination schedules (because a. Pandemic b. Time crunch). My mom keeps nagging me all the time that if our kids did not have doctor parents, they would have been better taken care of.
She has dental cavities from sheer negligence and although we haven't taken her to a dentist yet ; I want to at least brush her teeth with a Fluoride toothpaste daily to rectify the situation.
I at least want to administer calcium and vitamin D daily to my little one (because she's so lagging on growth). The only victim of the mammoth burden of those two years of the pandemic has been bore exclusively by my little one, who's lagging far behind in height and weight. While she would never get back those couple of years, I at least should try to cover as much as possible now.
4. Give my best, every single day. When you are the mom of a picky eater who happens to be grossly underweight, the pressure is real. Everyone seems to point towards the mom that she is not feeding her child enough.
While I counsel my patients that being active is the main hallmark of a child's health; the weight of a child should not be below the normal range too. I just dread her meal times. She really does not eat much and running after her with every single morsel is such a Herculean task. Sometimes I am so exhauseted (especially during dinner time) that I don;t run after her and she just has a quarter of a paratha for dinner. I am usually drowning with guilt when I lie down to sleep on those days.
I don't want that to happen. I want to give my best to my kids (especially to my younger one) every single time, every day. I want God to flood me with the energy needed to do so. Because I believe that if I keep on giving her nutritious diet everyday, maybe someday she will catch up on her growth.
Enough rambling of this guilt stricken, exhausted mom. Now for the party.
Like any four year old, Mishi is obsessed with Peppa Pig and hence the theme of this party! She does not have any friend of her own (except for our neighbours) so I invited only a few family members. I persuaded all my husband's cousins ; whosever are residing in Delhi NCR to come join the celebration. We all met under one roof after ages and it was one hell of a family reunion.
The theme was pink and red (Peppa duh!) and we had a sleepover as we danced till wee hours of that cold January night. I cooked for the party (like every birthday) and it was a big hit with the guests.
Forever grateful for everything. Hopefully I can stick to my goals for the betterment of my little one.
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Mads' Cookhouse.
24 comments
hello!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, it's a really beautiful event and wonderful memories!
I really like your post, it's very inspiring.
Greetings from Poland!
These parenting goals are excellent. I love how mindful you are. And your home looks lovely. What a great job you did with the party and celebration. The photos as you said are super fun and everything looks great!
ReplyDeleteAllie of
www.allienyc.com
Superb partyy. Peppa n pink n red theme. Love the way you describe how you are ready to live and love intentionally to your kids. I think we all should learn this.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I must say all moms are superheroes. How they manage, this deserves an award and more. Kudos to you.
ReplyDeleteThis is great- you seem like such a good mom. I love the resolutions you have put forth and am sure she will be thrilled as well
ReplyDeleteTrust me your post literally brought smile to my face. How managing two of your child you actually out into through this post with proper skills and investment in both your time and many more tips will work as wonder for all moms out there.
ReplyDeleteDancing every night with your daughters wow that is indeed a great way to take leave from the screens.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures in this post are so vibrant and happy ones that it will anyone smile with the first glance. Motherhood is a blessing and your life with your 4 year old darling daughter is no less than a blessing for you. Motherhood is one such role which needs attention, care, dedication and unconditional love for the kid. The post is indeed an impressive one and an guide for a new mom like me to follow
ReplyDeleteLoved the pics Mandira and I can't help laughing about that line... 'your kids have both parents as doctors still they have been ignored'... hahaha... but it takes courage to admit one's shortcoming. Kudos to you for multitasking efficiently and striving to do your best.
ReplyDeleteI love home birthday parties for my kids anyday and my daughter loves Peppa Pig too. Great pictures! And I agree, raising two kids can be overwhelming but hey we're doing our best and desert a pat on the back for it, everyday.
ReplyDeleteThis post of urs is direct from heart. Love the clicks and the vibrant colors.
ReplyDeleteThe birthday party looks a hit with kids and adults both. The pictures are amazing. Your article is very helpful for parents and I will recommend it to my friends.
ReplyDeleteThat disclaimer at the start :D Lovely pictures! I am not a parent but I still read through your post, because I like reading your posts, and I guess these points also hold true when you are looking after your elders. They tend to become like children more often than not :D
ReplyDeleteThe photos are so beautiful....I have only one son, but I'm the third child of my parents, so I could relate to a lot of things you said about how the younger ones get shadowed behind their elder siblings.
ReplyDeleteThat disclaimer did apply to me and I really enjoyed the clicks. Your girls are adorable. I am sure a lot of mothers would be able to relate to your post and the motherhood goals.
ReplyDeleteI complete agree about being intentional when spending time with children. The should be given 100% attention. They learn from us how we behave, they will behave with others.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! Raising children can be a challenging and overwhelming task, but it's important to remember that we're doing the best we can with the resources we have. It's important to acknowledge and celebrate our efforts, even if things don't always go as planned. Loved your post.
ReplyDeleteAnjali
I loved this positive post. You clicked so beautiful pictures and after reading your post, I must say all moms are superheroes. How do you manage all work, kids, home and also blogging. Hats off to you.
ReplyDeleteI really loved the colourful pics. I am a grandmother of two but I am still fascinated with balloons. The 4 goals are very apt in today's age. We women tend to neglect ourselves but instead we should eat and live healthily.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful pics and looks like a fun celebration that you put together. I love your 2nd point.....habit building is important. They say if you do something consistently for atleast a month it becomes a habit....so the early you inculcate the routine in kids the better it is for them to be disciplined about some things.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, happy birthday to you lovely daughter! I hope she knows how blessed she is to have a mother like you who focuses on things and values like the ones you've highlighted. Parenting/Motherhood has been too much influenced by materialism nowadays that the most important values needed have been forgotten. I hope your article spreads inspiration to others and be reminded on how these are still important nowadays. - MommyWithAGoal
ReplyDeleteI love the disclaimer, the pics, the theme, the bonding, and practically all the advice given about the inclusion of the older child the most. The health visits did stay with me and I consider it to be my takeaway from this blog.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. I have a four year old and Peppa Pig fan too. This is a beautiful post with some valuable information and tips.
ReplyDeleteDon't be too hard on yourself, you are a good mom. That Peppa Pig cake looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteNoor