Momma is a Teacher

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originally uploaded by frankjuarez

This is true for my little boy twice over. He heard plenty of teaching in utero as he came along to the high school Spanish classes I taught. Now, as he is growing, he is seeing the teacher side of Momma more and more. Among other things, I teach him to fall asleep on his own, keep his hands off the electrical cords, use the potty, and brush his teeth. What do you teach your children?

It's an important question to consider as Baby approaches toddlerhood. What do you want to teach him? I am a much better mother when I keep in mind my long and short term goals. To get you thinking, here are just a few of the goals I am implementing with my 11-month-old:



Goal: Play Independently
Implementation: After breakfast each day, Junior knows he'll have 30-45 minutes of entertaining himself. I put him in his play-pen or a very small room that we have baby-proofed with the music on and some toys and books to play with. I say "have fun" and leave him to entertain himself for a while. We started with much shorter amounts of time when he was younger and have gradually worked up to this length. I'm glad to have a baby who doesn't whine to be entertained by me all the time and who is learning how to amuse himself.

Goal: Drink from a Sippy Cup
Implementation: After his morning nap and before lunch, I sit Baby on my knee and help him explore his sippy cup a bit. He likes to study it and take intermittent sips.  According to The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, it can take up to a month for babies to master the art of sippy cup drinking. We haven't been at it that long, so I am patiently teaching.

Goal: Play well with others
Implementation: About once a week, we go to the library and spend some time in the play area with the kids who happen to be there. I sit near my son and if he takes someones' toy or behaves inappropriately, I tell him "no." He also periodically gets to play with his cousins ages 8 mo., 2 yrs, and 4 yrs. Again, I am there to supervise. For now, he doesn't play without parental supervision as we don't think he's quite ready for that freedom.

Goal: Enjoy music
Implementation: At nap time and bed time, I hold my son and sing "Amazing Grace."  He knows that song means sleep is coming soon, and it often brings on a yawn. While he plays alone, I put on classical music. When I go get him after "independent playtime," we dance around the room to that music. A few times a week, I play the piano while he plays in the same room. After a few songs, I hold him on my lap and let him explore the keys too.

Goal: Be bilingual
Implementation: During the weekdays while my husband is at work, I speak Spanish with our son. When Daddy is home, it's English time. This means that Junior hears many of the same things ("time to change your diaper," "Don't touch!," "I love you" etc.) in both languages on a daily basis. It's exciting to begin to see how he responds and understands to both languages now.

Without even trying, the home becomes a classroom to a growing baby. Every parent will have different strength and skills that they want to emphasize and teach. I am so thankful for the fine arts of conversation and friendship that my Mom modeled and taught.  I want to make it easy for my son to learn my strengths and hard to pick up my weaknesses. One way to do that is to think through my goals in parenting and be intentional about what I teach him.

RESOURCES
The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems: Sleeping, Feeding, and Behavior--Beyond the Basics from Infancy Through Toddlerhood
Babywise II: Parenting Your Pretoddler (5 to 15 Months)
On Becoming Toddlerwise