By Cheryl Bac
E-mail Cheryl Bac
About this blog: I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, home cook, marathon runner, and PhD. I recently moved to the Silicon Valley after completing my PhD in Social Psychology and becoming a mother one month apart. Before that, I ran seven marathons incl...
(More)About this blog: I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, home cook, marathon runner, and PhD. I recently moved to the Silicon Valley after completing my PhD in Social Psychology and becoming a mother one month apart. Before that, I ran seven marathons including Chicago and Boston. Exercise is an integral part of my life. I hope to one day go back to long distance running and tackle the New York City Marathon. Right now I run after my one year old son. Although I am a stay-at-home mom, we are rarely "at home." My mom also stayed at home with my brother and me. She warned me that, although rewarding, it can be isolating. So, with her help, I learned the importance of getting out into the community and meeting other mothers. On the rare occasion when I am at home and have a hand or two free, I squeeze in time to scrapbook. As a new mom, many challenges are thrown my way. I hope my opinions, triumphs, and struggles help experienced parents reminisce, new parents cope, and parents-to-be get an honest glimpse of what the first years of motherhood can entail.
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A lot changes when your toddler starts talking. One of the biggest adjustments for me is realizing just how easily he absorbs extraneous information from his environment.
Many toddlers are repeatedly exposed to Thomas the Tank Engine from train tables at local toy stores and to Elmo from the designs on their diapers. It is amazing how attracting these characters are to little eyes and ears.
It's more difficult to come to terms with the negative information that our son sees and overhears. Especially when one exposure is all he sometimes needs to learn it. With the summer in full swing, many parks and museums are overflowing with children. With so many people out and about, it's not uncommon for our son to see or overhear some extent of bullying or teasing. And when we are walking along University Ave or waiting in line at a store, he is also exposed to adults behaving less than ideally.
When our son sees or hears something that we wish he hadn't, we wait to see what his reaction is. Sometimes he is so engrossed in his current activity that he misses it. Other times he tries to repeat it or appears concerned. When our son is obviously affected, we talk to him about the phrase or behavior being "not nice" or "dangerous" and a more appropriate one that should have been said/done instead.
I'm sure this issue will only grow as our son gets older. What do you do when your "little sponges" are exposed to things that are less than optimal?
