Daily Stuntz — Parenting Thoughts

I am fortunate enough to be a dad to two younger kids and one of the things my wife and I have tried to do is let them do things for themselves. While it is little stuff now like getting snack ready, getting ready for school, etc. hopefully they at some point just take over and do everything themselves so I can relax 🙂. This seems like a much better direction compared with us doing everything for them even if it leads to more messes, things done in a way I may not have expected, or what has driven this post — just how long things can possibly take.

At multiple points yesterday I wondered if one of my kids moved slower than plate tectonics. This may seem like an overreaction, but it seemed like a real comparison at the time.

I consider myself to be fairly strict on time and schedules. Not somebody who follows the 5 minutes early or you are late type of approach, but if we are supposed to be somewhere or talk to someone at a specific time, I try to do that. This has become a nonstarter and for the most part I just need to get over it, but occasionally the pace seems to go so slow we are possibly going back in time. I try not to jump in and do it for them just to move faster as that defeats the goal and possibly gives them the idea to move even slower so I jump in faster, but it is very tempting.

If anyone out there has found ways to address their sanity around how long it can take a small child to do something I would appreciate recommendations.