The older my children get, the more I realize how different each of them are. The oldest is 8 years old and she is so creative and crafty. She is a very imaginative thinker. She is stylish and fun and such a great little singer. She is a whiz in school, in fact she loves school. She used to be very shy and timid, but has really come out of her shell in the last couple of years and has some really great friends. Learning comes easy to her, with a few exceptions. She has always done very well in school and never really had to study because for the most part doing the work in class was enough to get her by.
The middle child, our only son was just barely five when he started Kindergarten this year. He was very reluctant to go even though he went to daycare/pre-school for 3 years before he started school! He cried for over an hour on the first day of school. I had to walk him to class every day for the first semester. The only things he really likes about school are P.E., lunch, and recess! He used to ask me every day what activity he had and on the days when I told him he had library he would cry and say he didn't want to go to school until it was P.E. day. He is such a boy. He loves to play rough (fight), run, etc. He has a very hard time sitting still. He thrives on structure. He is energetic, fun, and so very loving. He is a true "cowboy" at heart. He loves the outdoors and his favorite past time is horseback riding.
Our youngest, who is two and a half is care free. Literally she has not a care in the world about anything. Well, with the exception of her "blankie" and "cuppie". We broke her from the bottle and sippie cup before she turned one and she turned to a sippie cup to drink her milk. She has since turned it into a paci and using it as a soothing tool instead of a drink mechanism. I know this is not good and I realize I need to break her from it. But, this is so easy on paper (or in this case on screen) but I just haven't psyched myself up enough to actually follow through just yet. She is very articulate and expressive. She speaks like an adult. In fact, one of the teachers at her daycare informed me that they think she's a grown up in a kid's body! She will put you in your place very quickly and nothing slips by her. One of her favorite things to say is, "Do you hear me?"!! She potty trained very quickly and easily. She is loves all things Dora and Minnie-Mouse and her favorite food is cheese dip. She prefers, however to eat it with a spoon and not on a chip.
My point in this post is that they are all different. We cannot discipline them all the same because their needs are differently. We cannot compare them academically, socially, or emotionally because they are so different. This is something that I struggle with, especially with the older two who are attending the same Elementary school. They are not on the same level academically and they most likely never will be. The oldest started school later because her birthday falls in November. The middle child was only a few days shy of the cut off for Kindergarten so it seemed like we just cut the cord and sent him to school. With every decision I've made with him this year, I wonder is it the right one. Sometimes I look for that instruction manual that will tell me each step I need to make but, it has yet to be found. It's probably under that big pile of laundry!
Needless to say, the middle child's first year of school has been vastly different than the oldest. Enjoyable at times, but at others (like today) at the end of the day I am just left with a sigh wondering if we've made the right decisions as parents. Only time will tell...
Who Said Being a Mom Was Gonna Be Easy?!
http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/2011/03/who-said-being-mom-was-gonna-be-easy.html
