Mamas & Papas-
I was telling my girlfriend about how when at the museum with DS, I kept him occupied by having him look for something blue in each gallery. She said, oh, that's clever. I remember, my mom used to have me on the lookout for animals. The looking for something blue is something I stumbled on after some trial and error, and was pretty proud of, but it seems that I reinvented the wheel.
Being an older mother, and not terribly interested/ observant about children and parenting before becoming a mother myself (I had to ask the ped to teach me how to diaper a child after mine was born), I find that I am needlessly re-inventing the wheel when it comes to parenting. Mamapedia has been a real resource in this regard.
1. I can ask for tips on current issues.
2. I can read about struggles others are having.
Do you feel that you have been reinventing the wheel? Does mamapedia help you in this regards,
thanks,
F. B.
Given the length of time humans have occupied the earth, it's really going to be hard to come up with some parenting tips and tricks that have never been used so I think we all "re-invent" the wheel at some point in time.
I don't know if it's 'reinventing the wheel' per se, however, I find myself somewhat surprised at the media's 'revelations' regarding parenting that many of us have known about for a long time. It seems that some parents and authors are wanting to reinvent 'how' parenting should be, only because of their own lack of perspective and understanding of the history of childhood. It's kind of funny, some people have to go to other cultures before really understanding some of the parenting stuff that our moms and grandmothers understood. It makes me laugh, a little, at the thought of the idea of 'revolutionizing' parenting via any given discipline/idea, considering that most of the sound parenting techniques have been around for a long, long time.
I think it's less about reinvention and more about unchaining ourselves from the wheel and just doing what works for us. Sorry if that seems a bit abstract, but that's what I've been noodling on today-- we don't have to do it exactly the same way as our grandmas, but some parenting expectations should be steeped in similar values if we aren't going to raise yet another generation fraught with kids whose self-esteems have been placed on a pedestal, only to the child's detriment. Sometimes, when they reinvent the wheel, they make it square and it just goes nowhere.
For me, I like asking other Mamapedia moms for other resources or for opinions on things I'm not quite as familiar with. It's also interesting to see what sorts of patterns and trends occur/emerge in parenting: for an example, over the past several years, I've noticed that there is a spike in 'attitude problems' with kids who are about 9 years of age. When you start hearing about not one, or two but *several* cases of Smartypants-itis in that age range, or heightened fears in four year olds, or notice a spike in In-Law posts around Mothers Day or major holidays, you know it's not just you or your sister or your best friend complaining.... it's almost epidemic! We are not alone. :)
I don't think any of us are reinventing the wheel. We try to figure out what works, often through trial and error. The wheel has been invented and improved upon too many times to count. We just have to figure out whether we wanna go off road or to stick with the city streets. :-)
This is going to sound arrogant and maybe it is, but There is so much I can observe and learn from others, because my heart is open and I am secure and Willing to Ask and learn from others, that NO I don't feel I am reinventing the wheel, I feel I am sharing in the collective wisdom.
and I love mamapedia because often it confirms that my "wheels" still work, --"oh I love playing games w kids while we are waiting too and looking for blue is a great twist, kudos F. B. for reminding me of that " and also because as much as I love learning from others I love sharing too. and its sooo much easier to do it online because I am basically a shy sensitive person.
I think we are just writing the instruction booklet that was missing at birth. Only problem is no 2 models are the same.
hee! i remember begin so astonished the first time i tried talking through a behavioral problem with my little boy and letting him help figure out how to correct it, and how i could support him in his efforts. brilliant!
i was TOTALLY the first mom EVER to do that!
i also remember the nurse bringing him to me after i delivered him and leaving him, and a diaper, on my bed. i was so utterly flummoxed.
not sure how that boy survived me.
:) khairete
S.
There is no human 2.0, therefore most everything has been figured out before and if we re lucky, we stumble upon good experience with an age old problem.
Tecnology has rewritten code on us, though. Social media has brought as many problems, as solutions and it's a new twist.
The wheel has new spokes.
Hi F. B.!
I do feel ALL the time I'm reinventing the wheel . I'm a creative person academically, but not socially. So, parenting three boys has definitely tested my creativity in social situations!
