I haven't posted in a while! I'm going to try to be better. I've been keeping very busy. I now babysit a six year old boy for a couple hours each afternoon. It is really a perfect situation because I can bring my son. I just finished my first week and have come to the realization (again) that I just don't like other people's kids. Is that completely terrible? I've always been that way. My childhood was filled with dreams of wanting to be a mother. I played dolls until I was 16. (Yes you read the right and no it wasn't a typo) I guess I'm not a baby or kid person. I'm not good with kids. I'm coming to terms with that. I love my DS to pieces and want more children, but when it comes to other kids....I have no idea what to do. I have a cousin that is a kid magnet. She knows all the fun games and knows just what to say to get any person under the age of 12 in a fit of giggles. What's her secret? I remember asking my grandmother when I was a teenager if I was going to be a bad mother because I never felt comfortable talking or working with babies. She promised me that it was different with your own children. She was very right.
The little boy that I'm babysitting is a sweet, energetic six year old. Wow can he test limits though! Each day he gets off his bus awkwardly struggling under the weight of his backpack. He greets us with a smile and launches into a story about his day at kindergarten. I take his backpack and help him into the house. My heart is warmed by his chatter and after he kicks his sneakers off we finish talking about his day. Then I see his wheels beginning to turn. "I think I'll have my snack now," He says coyly. He bolts into the kitchen and disappears into the pantry. Keep in mind I have my toddling son to watch out for in a home with lots of small things and breakables! I chase after my little six year old buddy and there he is half way through a chocolate bar. Somehow, the little monkey scaled the pantry shelves and found someones hidden chocolate stash. I quickly flash back to the days when I did my own pantry shelf scaling and think of my poor mother. How did she put up with me? There is a list posted on the fridge of approved after school snacks and guess what ISN'T on there? That's right, chocolate bars! I calmly, yet firmly, tell the child that chocolate bars are not one of the snacks he can have. As I say this he somehow shoves the rest of the bar down his throat. "But I'm already done eating it!" He says through a full mouth. Battle number one and I lose. We spend the rest of our time together playing hide and seek. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've stood in a broom closet next to a litter box holding an antsy 11 month old while a six year old counts to forty. Strangely enough, the six year old seems to actually have fun when we play these games and battle over snacks. How can this be? I never know the right games to play or the right things to say to him. Maybe that doesn't matter??
I'll be honest, part of me loves my two hours of babysitting, but am I the only one that feels like I'm constantly being outsmarted by a six year old? I suppose I have a lot to learn.
The little boy that I'm babysitting is a sweet, energetic six year old. Wow can he test limits though! Each day he gets off his bus awkwardly struggling under the weight of his backpack. He greets us with a smile and launches into a story about his day at kindergarten. I take his backpack and help him into the house. My heart is warmed by his chatter and after he kicks his sneakers off we finish talking about his day. Then I see his wheels beginning to turn. "I think I'll have my snack now," He says coyly. He bolts into the kitchen and disappears into the pantry. Keep in mind I have my toddling son to watch out for in a home with lots of small things and breakables! I chase after my little six year old buddy and there he is half way through a chocolate bar. Somehow, the little monkey scaled the pantry shelves and found someones hidden chocolate stash. I quickly flash back to the days when I did my own pantry shelf scaling and think of my poor mother. How did she put up with me? There is a list posted on the fridge of approved after school snacks and guess what ISN'T on there? That's right, chocolate bars! I calmly, yet firmly, tell the child that chocolate bars are not one of the snacks he can have. As I say this he somehow shoves the rest of the bar down his throat. "But I'm already done eating it!" He says through a full mouth. Battle number one and I lose. We spend the rest of our time together playing hide and seek. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've stood in a broom closet next to a litter box holding an antsy 11 month old while a six year old counts to forty. Strangely enough, the six year old seems to actually have fun when we play these games and battle over snacks. How can this be? I never know the right games to play or the right things to say to him. Maybe that doesn't matter??
I'll be honest, part of me loves my two hours of babysitting, but am I the only one that feels like I'm constantly being outsmarted by a six year old? I suppose I have a lot to learn.
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Hi- found your blog from The Bump :). I'm not always crazy about other people's kids either because I'm a real stickler for good behavior. I'm sure he's just testing his boundaries since you're a new person, to see what he can get away with!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah! You are so right! I'm learning that it is alll about testing boundaries and if I stay firm now, it will help with future battles.
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