"I'm so freakin' frustrated right now!", shouted my three-year-old son, Ben, as he was trying to fix one of his toys. This, just after he belted out an "Arghhh, Goddammit!". This was not the first time he's repeated some choice words he heard from Mom and Dad.
Um, yikes.
I can only hope that he doesn't choose to display this colorful vocabulary at school! Of course, one of these beauties always find it's way past his lips in front of his Grandparents.
In my defense, he WAS choosing to talk about his emotions rather than hitting, so that's +1 point for me, right? Right?!
Unfortunately, he's not quite young enough for us to replace those words with a cleaner version, telling him that his misheard us. Like, "Oh Ben, Mom said truck!". I mean, he's got those statements down really well - almost like he's been practicing them. He has - and he's been watching us closely.
Before you get worried, we've talked with him about Mom and Dad using nicer words when we are upset and we're trying to model how taking a big, deep breath helps us to calm down. We've deemed "DUDE!" and "OH, BOY!" as our new statements and Ben's been practicing these too. I have also vowed to clean up my truckers mouth…keep you posted on that one. :)
Hearing very adult words come out of my toddlers mouth in perfect context is a big wake-up call...in more ways than one. If I didn't realize it before, I now know how very impressionable our children are and how much they mimic Mom and Dad, good or bad. They are watching us, dying to mirror back to us what they've learned.
Guess what, Moms? When we take care of ourselves, our children are watching.
At the playground yesterday, both kids seemed relatively occupied for a minute, so I jumped up to the monkey bars to do a few rounds of chin ups. When I hopped down, I turned around to find Benjamin, and Nathan (1), standing side-by-side, wide-eyed watching me. Ben clapped and yelled out a huge "Wow, Nice job, Mom!". Talk about feeling like Superwoman.
I heard from our caregiver last week that he made up a story about a little boy who was working out and doing squats. I turned around in the kitchen from cooking dinner to see Nate laughing hysterically and doing squats like Mom.
The good stuff…that transfers too…and it's so, so powerful.
My kids are learning to prioritize movement from watching me prioritize my health and fitness.
Um, yikes.
I can only hope that he doesn't choose to display this colorful vocabulary at school! Of course, one of these beauties always find it's way past his lips in front of his Grandparents.
In my defense, he WAS choosing to talk about his emotions rather than hitting, so that's +1 point for me, right? Right?!
Unfortunately, he's not quite young enough for us to replace those words with a cleaner version, telling him that his misheard us. Like, "Oh Ben, Mom said truck!". I mean, he's got those statements down really well - almost like he's been practicing them. He has - and he's been watching us closely.
Before you get worried, we've talked with him about Mom and Dad using nicer words when we are upset and we're trying to model how taking a big, deep breath helps us to calm down. We've deemed "DUDE!" and "OH, BOY!" as our new statements and Ben's been practicing these too. I have also vowed to clean up my truckers mouth…keep you posted on that one. :)
Hearing very adult words come out of my toddlers mouth in perfect context is a big wake-up call...in more ways than one. If I didn't realize it before, I now know how very impressionable our children are and how much they mimic Mom and Dad, good or bad. They are watching us, dying to mirror back to us what they've learned.
Guess what, Moms? When we take care of ourselves, our children are watching.
At the playground yesterday, both kids seemed relatively occupied for a minute, so I jumped up to the monkey bars to do a few rounds of chin ups. When I hopped down, I turned around to find Benjamin, and Nathan (1), standing side-by-side, wide-eyed watching me. Ben clapped and yelled out a huge "Wow, Nice job, Mom!". Talk about feeling like Superwoman.
I heard from our caregiver last week that he made up a story about a little boy who was working out and doing squats. I turned around in the kitchen from cooking dinner to see Nate laughing hysterically and doing squats like Mom.
The good stuff…that transfers too…and it's so, so powerful.
My kids are learning to prioritize movement from watching me prioritize my health and fitness.
Benjamin proudly squat pressing with "dumbbells" made of marshmallow at a friend's circus-themed birthday party
I love hearing stories from my clients about their kids getting involved in cooking new, healthy recipes or how they sprint next to mom or pick up her dumbbells as she's doing a metabolic circuit. If we're going to teach them to swear, we might as well teach them how to love their bodies and treat them, and their minds, well with nourishing food and exercise, right?!
If you struggle to find time for the gym or have the mom guilt we all have when we take time for ourselves…work out with your kids! The more you do, the more they have patience for it and will eventually give you the little bubble you need to get it done. Bonus: they're watching you and will learn the value of exercise from the simple act of taking care of you.
Moms, check out my free resource, "Mommy's A Hottie" Playground Workouts. As the summer fades into Fall and beach time evolves into more playground-centric outings, use this resource of 7 fat-blasting and QUICK workouts so you can prioritize your fitness among your mom-ing lifestyle. :)
Moms, check out my free resource, "Mommy's A Hottie" Playground Workouts. As the summer fades into Fall and beach time evolves into more playground-centric outings, use this resource of 7 fat-blasting and QUICK workouts so you can prioritize your fitness among your mom-ing lifestyle. :)
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