Parents as Buddies
11:55 PM
Mums are busy machines working 24/7. With all the tasks needed to be done, I admit that sometimes I get too focused on ticking off the items on the task list. The downside is, I skip the important part of parenting - PLAY.
My mind eyeing the goal, say, I'm trying to feed Caleb and he decides to throw food all over or run around the house, I become impatient and irritable because my thinking is I still have tons of things to do and yet here I am forcing my son to eat who happens to be hyperactive and won't listen to me. I think I'm wasting time.
Picture this: I give all possible distractions and animations (spoon pretends to be a plane, I act as if I just ate the most delicious food in the world, cartoons played on tv, etc.) just to make Caleb eat while I cradle Yuri who, on the other hand, refuses to be put in bed. In between feedings, I try to stop Caleb from climbing unsafe furniture, or I start picking up pieces of food thrown on the floor. All these I try to do patiently.
One day I got really pissed on all the wasted food, effort and time in making my toddler eat. I wanted to scream in frustration and eventually shed tears if I really couldn't control my emotions. I thought 'This happens every single day. That's it! You don't want to eat, fine! I did my part and you had your chance!'
Just at the same moment, a TV commercial of Nestle's Chuckie was playing the last part which flashed the words:
Minsan lang sila maging bata, sabayan mo na.
It really hit me and guilt was flowing all over my system. What do kids really want to do? Play, right? Everything is some sort of play. Put them on the dining table and they make sounds with utensils; give him a book and he'll end up munching on it; let him sit on a chair to watch and you'll see him running around. With their curious minds, what else are they supposed to do? They just can't help it.
After watching the TV ad again with the parting lyrics of "She may be my mom but she's always a buddy to me.", I decided I would put play as our priority. I would lie if I say I didn't care about the chores I have yet to do, but my children's happiness come first. It's true, they won't be the same naughty kids who make heart-melting and silly gestures when they're older. You won't be able to kiss, hug and tickle them when they're already taller than you.
I told my husband about the touching and eye-opening ad, so now it serves as our reminder that despite our kids making us very impatient and furious at times, it is best to kick the bad vibes aside, put out a smile, unleash the kid in you and play with your little angels.
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