Meet our newest contributor: Monika Patel! As the mother of two elementary age daughters, Monika is busy with school, parties, soccer, running the business side of SMB, and of course, birthdays…. which sometimes are a little hard on mom to accept! Read on!
My oldest is about to turn 8. The birthdays come every year, but this one, unlike others, feels like a monumental, yet still subtle, change in the ages.
She is no longer a child; she is now a Big KID.
At 8 she is not much into “toys”. Our seemingly endless collection of my little pony, Barbie, princess, dress-up, play kitchen, etc. are seldom sought out and are slowly collecting dust. She bypasses the playroom en route to find the family I-pad with the video star app. Our living room serves as a stage for rock videos and choreographed plays, of which she is the sole playwright and costume designer.
Disney Jr., Nick Jr. PBS kids are all too “baby” and she now has more interest in “people” shows rather than cartoons. Thankfully Netflix lets us mix in a “The Munsters” and “Leave it to Beaver” to balance out the absurd parents on her other favorite show, “Good Luck Charlie”.
Showers are preferred; baths are boring.
Friends are more of an influence on her life than Dad and Mom.
New clothes from Justice are more exciting than a toy from Target.
“How to be a good sharer” discussions are now replaced with advice on navigating the playground’s social circles.
Rather than running along to play in the other room, she now enjoys listening to our adult conversations “to find out if something is going to happen”, aka data mining for future info on vacations and presents.
What do I do with this new KID? What if I want my baby back? Maybe she doesn’t like Disney Jr, but what if I am not ready to give it up? I know, “tough luck”. She is growing and changing and I can’t apply the brakes.
Oh how I wish …
Time to move up to new real estate, I am a mother of a KID, no longer a baby, no longer needing me for EVERYTHING (potty, eating, diapers, sleeping, separation anxiety).
I know at one point I couldn’t wait for all that to end.
I never knew I would miss it.
I feel your pain. But I bet she stills runs to you with scraped up knees, nervous jitters, or hurt feelings! Moms are always needed….even when they turn into TWEENS (Yikes)!
Funny you should post this right now because someone JUST suggested to me since my kids are both small (2.5 and 4) that I reserve them an email address now, send them stuff and give them the password when they turn 18!
Personally, I keep a journal and enjoy looking back and reading about the milestones – it’s all so fleeting.
Thanks for your comments! Yes it goes by WAY too fast! I find myself seeing babies and toddlers at stores and around town and wishing I could see my girls that little again (not the sleepless nights again, but for the cuddling!). Trying to live in the moment as I am sure I will miss 8 when she is 16 🙂
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