A Case of the Lazy Mom

I try not to be. But more times than I care to admit, I have to admit I am a lazy mom. Case in point: teaching your child how to tie his own shoes. What is the appropriate age for a child to learn how to tie his shoes? I think they should start learning in kindergarten and be proficient maybe by first grade. This was true for my youngest. However, it is only true because he was motivated to learn. He asked for the skill to be demonstrated, watched, practiced, and exerted his independence by doing it himself (even if we were running a little late and I was ready to jump in and just get it done myself). My oldest is finally learning to tie his shoes, and he is (I am embarrassed to say) in the the fourth grade.Yikes! How did I let this happen? The answer--I'm lazy, of course. It was far too easy to keep buying velcro shoes. We have talked about needing to work on this skill together for years. I thought I was committed to making it happen this summer. I had a plan--a plan which quickly fell apart the moment summer began. Right before school started I bought Todd a pair of tie-shoes. We agreed that this was it. It was time for him to learn how to tie his own shoes. And he has. Only he is not using the traditional method. Brett recently taught the whole family a new way to tie our shoes. It is supposed to be much more effective at staying tied. I agree that it seems to be a stronger knot. It is a little awkward, but I prefer using it to tie my own sneakers. So while I am lazy, apparently you can teach an old dog some new tricks.

From Goo Blobs to Birth

Oh, what a crazy and interesting conversation I had with Ryan last night. Todd was nearby--all ears, I'm sure--but it was with Ryan that the phrase "goo blob" was introduced to describe the beginning of life. How we got there is difficult to explain. It started out with Ryan sharing and asking a lot of questions related to his non-fiction library book on UFOs. One thing led to another and pretty soon the conversation moved from alien abductions to pregnancy and the beginnings and growth of a baby in the womb. (Don't ask.) I tried to explain how small we begin, but how all of the information is there from the beginning to grow into the form that we recognize as babies. Ryan came up with the idea of goo, since we have no bones at that point. Towards the end of the conversation I asked Ryan if he wanted to see some pictures of what babies look like as they are growing. He enthusiastically replied in the affirmative.

Now I am wondering, "What was I thinking?"

I have a booklet that I kept from my pregnancy days called, "As Your Baby Grows: From Conception to Birth." It has photos that show month-by-month growth and development. It is a little intense, but I already know that Ryan will eat it up. He has such a curiosity when it comes to learning things about science and how things work. He is very much like his dad in that respect. I also know that it will lead to more questions. Thus the question I now ask myself, "What was I thinking?"

Wish me luck.