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...
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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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As parents, we understand that there are days, weeks, or even months when we are just going to be tired. When we have a newborn. When a child is sick. Or when we just choose to stay up later than usual.
This is a harder concept to explain to young kids. Some days they are also just going to be tired. If a sibling is sick and wakes up crying throughout the night. If we take a very early or a very late flight for a vacation. If they attend an event that goes past their normal bedtime. Or if they push themselves extra hard during a class or a camp.
When children misbehave, it's so easy to quickly say "oh, they are just tired" and excuse the bad behavior. But at a certain age, I think it's important for kids to learn some strategies to cope when they are tired. Will they nap? Spend more time reading/coloring and less time running? Sleep in late? Go to bed early for a few days? Eat more nutritious food?
Whenever our daughter is overtired, my son and I work together to figure out ways to help her. Maybe she should take an early nap. Maybe I should wear her in a carrier. Maybe we should read extra books. Maybe she should go to bed early. Sometimes our son comes up with the perfect way to calm her down. One day, maybe she can return the favor and help him when he is overtired.