No Pressure

Friends of ours are going to have their first baby this summer. They are highly educated, planning types. I was at their house recently and they have a copy of my favorite sleep book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I haven't looked at the book in years and the new copy is much thicker than I remember. As I looked at the book, I didn't see how it could be helpful before the baby arrived so I was perusing some of the chapters.

In the introduction, I found this in a box in bold text:

IF YOUR CHILD DOES NOT LEARN TO SLEEP WELL, HE MAY BECOME AN INCURABLE ADULT INSOMNIAC, CHRONICALLY DISABLED FROM SLEEPINESS AND DEPENDENT ON SLEEPING PILLS.

It wasn't an ALL CAPS but it might as well have been.

I often wonder why I put so much pressure on myself to make the "right' decisions regarding my children. It's not an illusion that there is a lot of pressure "out there." I read this book, and I do not remember this passage because I am sure I took it seriously. Now I think, whatever. Sure, in extreme cases, this may be true but doubtful. If you're reading that book, you are likely doing the best you can and whatever you feel is in the best interest of your child.

So much of this pressure I feel is simply from people trying to sell me their expertise. Now, if I can just ignore them.

DIY

Recently, Sonia has started to dress herself. She wears the same outfit every day. I think of it as a uniform to keep myself from saying anything. My friend Heather bought her the outfit: grey stretch pants, a purple ruffled skirt, and a matching shirt with a ballerina on it.  She has also been accessorizing on occasion...

She also cut her own hair yesterday. Now she has bangs

She has started putting her head in the water during swimming lessons.

Jack and our neighbor are building their own army base behind our house.

This Ted talk is titled the Demise of Guys. I watch these because of Jack. The topic of the talk is how boys' minds are being re-wired by screens especially video games and porn. The speaker admits he has no answers and is just here to alarm us. Works every time with me. I am really concerned because Jack is drawn to screens like a moth to flame. Yesterday we went to a birthday party at a trampoline place. While all the boys were jumping and playing air hockey, Jack sat in front of the video games pretending to play. When I asked him why he said he couldn't help it. The videogames kept "calling him to come back."

I want to move to the remote jungles of the amazon.