Get Off of Your Cell Phone and Parent Your Child

Warning: this post expresses my strong opinion and judgments.

On Monday I took my little guy to a bouncy place (I don't want to give the actual name or location of the bouncy place) for an open play event. It was just the two of us. I am considering the place as a possibility for his birthday party and wanted to check it out.

If you read my last post, you know that I am far from the perfect parent. I try not to compare myself with other moms. Fortunately I have wonderful friends who don't make motherhood a competition. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I compare myself to others.

When I compare myself to the parents at the bouncy place, I look like parent of the year. I along with two other mothers where the only parents actually looking at, talking with, watching, helping and parenting our children. There were tables of parents with blank looks on their faces staring at their cell phone. Parents of small children where playing games on their phones while their children ran around unsupervised! I did not feel the bouncy place was safe enough for me to mentally check out and stop watching my child. I saw one parenting atrocity after another.

Then there were the parents of the older children. All I ask is that you pretend to parent. By all means stay in your comfortable seat and just yell, "Watch out for the little guys," "Take turns," "No hitting" or "be nice."  Sadly the parents remained silent and mentally checked out.

There is a huge different between children who are 4 and children who are 8. My suggestions for the bouncy place: have an age limit on the free play days and a huge sign stating  GET OFF OF YOUR CELL PHONE AND PARENT YOUR CHILD. They can add the word Please if they like.

I'm not stressed

I am not stressed. I don’t feel stressed. In fact I feel good, the best in years.


Yes, I did come dangerously close to throwing a plate across a restaurant dining room and telling my child, “Just Deal!” but I can explain. You see I spent a week taking care of and worrying about my child who was sick. For three nights he vomited or as he likes to say over and over again “puked.” On the first night I calmly cleaned up the puke and washed him. I fired up the laptop and Googled “how to get vomit out of carpet.” The next night I was prepared with a bucket. We went to the doctor, who advised fluids and over the counter medication. I was calm when my child refused to eat or drink or take medication. When the rivers of diarrhea began to flow, I was calm. I stayed up during the night rubbing his back and comforting him. After two days of my child no drinking and having a fever, I calmly discussed going to the hospital with my husband. We spend Saturday night in the hospital. I was tired but calm. Sunday I received lots of attitude and whining, a sign my little guy was on the road to recovery. I was patient and understanding.

Then I reached my breaking point.

I attended a blogger event at Peddler's Village with my good friend and my sister-in-law. I carried my 35 pound child from Giggleberry Fair to Sweet Lorraine's Cafe & Bar, where a buffet lunch was waiting for us. I placed mac and cheese on a plate with some potato chips, the only things my child would consider eating. Upon returning to our table I placed the plate in front of my child, who quickly protested. He only likes mac and cheese from a box, not the real kind of mac and cheese sitting on his plate. I scrapped the mac and cheese off his plate and placed the plate back in front of him. He was still upset because there were cheese streaks on the plate, that is when I almost threw the plate across the room and yelled “Just Deal!” Instead, I got a clean plate, placed the chips on the plate and announced that I can wait to return to work, where I am entitled to a lunch break by law.

I am not stressed. I am a mom dealing with life.

Mommy Needs A Cupcake

and she also needs:

a massage, a glass of wine, a warm bubble bath, a hair cut, new shoes, a night out with Daddy, a weekend with girlfriends, time to read a good book, new bras, some chocolate.....