Bigger Kids, Bigger Problems (?)
So, my grandmother used to say, “Little kids, little problems; big kids, big problems.” I’m not sure I agree. Or maybe it just doesn’t apply all that well to this particular age-and-stage (pre-school/school-aged kids).
I mean, things get a bit more complicated; that’s true. Like, for example, it’s not just all about sleep and food and bathroom. But let’s recall just how important (and therefore, big) all those things are! I mean, when your baby is not latching on and you’re convinced they’re going to starve? Or when you only get to sleep 30 minutes at a time because your baby has a cold and can’t eat or sleep well and you’re pretty sure you’re going to be the first person ever to actually literally die of fatigue?
So the problems in this section are about slightly less basic things. But I actually think that might make them smaller, not bigger. Or maybe the same size.
I have come to think that perhaps the bigger problems arrive in adolescence.
But that’s not to say that life with a toddler or school-aged child doesn’t have its complications. I mean, it’s kind of like burping. When they’re babies, you try to get them to burp. But after a certain age, you’d really prefer they not. Poor kid! First we encourage and praise, then we glare and scold? That doesn’t seem quite fair!
Or, when they’re tiny, and they manage to sign or say “more,” during a meal, you’re like, “Woo-hoo! More! Good job!” And then, once they master complete sentences but they still utter just “MORE,” you’re like, “Pff, don’t talk to me like that! Say ‘please’!”
But, if you’re like me, and you’re not 100% fully (cognitively) present at all times, sometimes you pass the green beans (yeah, right) even when they forget to say “please,” and then you realize, “Oh, wait, I’m supposed to make them say ‘please’.”
See?
Anyway, enjoy. And let me know if you, too, find this stage to have its own challenges (whether or not they are actually bigger than the ones discussed earlier).
And check back with me in a few years about adolescence (cringe).
