Confession time
I have to confess. I have zero idea how young parents do it these days.
With so many things to grab little one's attention, they seem to flit from one thing to another. Gone are the days when they could focus on one thing at a time, its no wonder teachers and doctors over compensate and rule youngsters hyperactive! Here's my take on it.
Now, mind you, this is only my opinion. I am not a medical professional, a therapist or any kind of expert apart from being Grandma Kitty. That said, little ones these days have waaaayyyy too much to grab their attention. Between the television, radio, video games, ipods and ipads, computers, not to mention the interactive toys, there's no way that kiddos can just use their imaginations.
When my Granddaughters are here, we limit the television time, mostly because some of the show are more annoying and they don't watch them anyway. There is no computer time for them, but there is coloring, playing outside with the dogs, coloring the patio with chalk, blowing bubbles and other things to keep them busy inside and out. The toys they have inside do not do tricks, make noise or make decisions for them. They have toy bugs, soldiers, animals, dolls, a barn for the farm animals, books (Yes, real books with pages and everything) and two of their favorite things are the dogs kennels (which really bums out Bailey, she doesn't like the huge stuffed bear that is currently taking up her space), an empty candle box and an empty coffee container. Its amazing the conversations I hear (at least the ones I can comprehend) when they are playing together with these toys.
They have figured out the animal's water bowl is fun for floating cat toys in and that the cats like to chase strings or even toilet paper that is dragged behind them (the girls), and that the dogs really like cookies, their own or the girls, they're not picky. Oh, and the time out chair is really handy for getting Grandma's books off the shelf or for climbing up on top of the kennels. That chair has yet to be used for time out.
To be honest, my two were a whole lot easier to deal with, they didn't have all of the things kids now days have to grab their attention, only because some of this stuff hadn't been invented yet. However, that said, the granddaughters are handling Grandma's version of play a lot better than I had anticipated. They love the barn and animals, although I'm not sure how many real barn animals would handle a giant fly invading their space. ;) They love to color but the little plastic army men, knights, bugs and animals are their favorite apart from chasing the cats down to pick them up and carry them around the house the way that toddlers carry cats.
Yeah, the cats generally make themselves scarce just for this reason.
**sigh**
So, my confession? I love my Granddaughters to Jupiter and back. They make me smile, make me laugh and sometimes make me wonder why I gave up swearing . I'm a little more laid back with them than I was with their Mama, only because I've figured out how to get crayon off the walls and furniture without taking the finish off or washing away the color. I'm less likely to fuss at them about running in the house, only because I'm afraid the mosquitoes outside will take off with them, because you know, everything in Texas is bigger.
Am I perfect? Psh! Heck no! I'm far from perfect. There are days that I count the seconds when one of the Kids will be off work, but then there are days that when I hear my messages go off, I look at the clock and go, "Really? That time already"? We'll be exploring the places around here that we didn't when my girls were younger, because then I was working and "didn't have time" and of course, I have to spill the beans...I'm sure there will be days when I sugar them up and hand them off. Okay, maybe not, but then again...
With so many things to grab little one's attention, they seem to flit from one thing to another. Gone are the days when they could focus on one thing at a time, its no wonder teachers and doctors over compensate and rule youngsters hyperactive! Here's my take on it.
Now, mind you, this is only my opinion. I am not a medical professional, a therapist or any kind of expert apart from being Grandma Kitty. That said, little ones these days have waaaayyyy too much to grab their attention. Between the television, radio, video games, ipods and ipads, computers, not to mention the interactive toys, there's no way that kiddos can just use their imaginations.
When my Granddaughters are here, we limit the television time, mostly because some of the show are more annoying and they don't watch them anyway. There is no computer time for them, but there is coloring, playing outside with the dogs, coloring the patio with chalk, blowing bubbles and other things to keep them busy inside and out. The toys they have inside do not do tricks, make noise or make decisions for them. They have toy bugs, soldiers, animals, dolls, a barn for the farm animals, books (Yes, real books with pages and everything) and two of their favorite things are the dogs kennels (which really bums out Bailey, she doesn't like the huge stuffed bear that is currently taking up her space), an empty candle box and an empty coffee container. Its amazing the conversations I hear (at least the ones I can comprehend) when they are playing together with these toys.
They have figured out the animal's water bowl is fun for floating cat toys in and that the cats like to chase strings or even toilet paper that is dragged behind them (the girls), and that the dogs really like cookies, their own or the girls, they're not picky. Oh, and the time out chair is really handy for getting Grandma's books off the shelf or for climbing up on top of the kennels. That chair has yet to be used for time out.
To be honest, my two were a whole lot easier to deal with, they didn't have all of the things kids now days have to grab their attention, only because some of this stuff hadn't been invented yet. However, that said, the granddaughters are handling Grandma's version of play a lot better than I had anticipated. They love the barn and animals, although I'm not sure how many real barn animals would handle a giant fly invading their space. ;) They love to color but the little plastic army men, knights, bugs and animals are their favorite apart from chasing the cats down to pick them up and carry them around the house the way that toddlers carry cats.
**sigh**
So, my confession? I love my Granddaughters to Jupiter and back. They make me smile, make me laugh and sometimes make me wonder why I gave up swearing . I'm a little more laid back with them than I was with their Mama, only because I've figured out how to get crayon off the walls and furniture without taking the finish off or washing away the color. I'm less likely to fuss at them about running in the house, only because I'm afraid the mosquitoes outside will take off with them, because you know, everything in Texas is bigger.
Am I perfect? Psh! Heck no! I'm far from perfect. There are days that I count the seconds when one of the Kids will be off work, but then there are days that when I hear my messages go off, I look at the clock and go, "Really? That time already"? We'll be exploring the places around here that we didn't when my girls were younger, because then I was working and "didn't have time" and of course, I have to spill the beans...I'm sure there will be days when I sugar them up and hand them off. Okay, maybe not, but then again...
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