There is a line in a great movie called "About a Boy" that provides sound parenting advice for modern moms. If you haven't seen it yet, you should. Not only because hottie Hugh Grant stars in the flick, but it's a funny film. The film shows single mothers who struggle to raise their children. In fact, at one point the main character, Will, joins a group called SPAT -- Single Parents Alone Together. It's a quote by Will (who pretends to be the proud parent of a two-year-old boy) -- not the single mothers -- that is actually good parenting advice for us modern moms."I find the key is to think of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching countdown: one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units. It's amazing how the day fills up, and I often wonder, to be absolutely honest, if I'd ever have time for a job; how do people cram them in?"
The last bit of the quote gives you a glimpse at how self-centered and out of touch with reality, Will is and also highlights one of the film's funnier scenes. But what is pertinent to us moms is the concept of units of time. Will broke down his day into units of time because an hour can be intimidating.
Think about your infant or toddler and how an hour of time can feel like an eternity to them -- and us! But if you break down his or her day into units of time, then it's more manageable for the child and let's face it, Mommy. Now, at this young age, you can even press your luck with a half hour. So I propose adopting this philosophy with some revision: 1 unit = 15 minutes. Playing with Play-Doh, 1 unit. Reading three of our favorite bedtime stories, 1 unit. Lunch, 2 units. Bathtime? Well, let's say be flexible with that one. But you get the idea. Thinking about how to survive the 12 hours your child is awake a day (if you're one of the lucky few whose children sleep through the night) is much more daunting than how to manage the next 15 minutes.
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1 comments:
I've never watched the movie, but it sounds interesting. Thank you for the "units" tip. I often find myself, as a working mother, unable to routinely do anything. It also doesn't help that I have 3 children. I think that would help me a great deal organize my evenings into something more manageable. As it is right now, I feel overwelmed, so tend to just sit there???
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