Oh man don't feel bad about this for one second. One summer of intense swim lessons and my kid still hated getting her hair washed, the next summer she was friggin Michael Phelps by lesson 3... sometimes it just has to all coalesce
Thank you so much for this. I haven’t gotten my 3-year-old swimming lessons yet and it’s been weighing on me (never mind that I was older than him and took to them like a fish).
Sep 16, 2022·edited Sep 16, 2022Liked by Evie Ebert
I love this so much. You are, in fact, in the drumming heart of it right now. And it changes as they get older. It gets easier and it gets more heartbreaking. I, too, err on the side of non-intervention. Which I sometimes describe as raising independent children and sometimes as being the laziest mother alive.
And I cannot count the hours, days and weeks I've spent regretting the parenting choices I've made, replaying the awful things I've said, wishing I'd been the mother I wanted to be.
And now? I have two daughters, 21 and 24, who COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE more fabulous humans. Mostly well-adjusted, fairly happy, fierce and funny. But not great swimmers.
I never thought of that side of parenting as being talent management, and it's seriously the perfect description. With my son, I struggle with encouraging him to learn new skills and stepping back and just allowing him to be a preschooler. We've had a hell of a time with swimming lessons, and this gave me some comfort.
Relate so so so hard. (insert heart emoji)
Oh man don't feel bad about this for one second. One summer of intense swim lessons and my kid still hated getting her hair washed, the next summer she was friggin Michael Phelps by lesson 3... sometimes it just has to all coalesce
Thank you so much for this. I haven’t gotten my 3-year-old swimming lessons yet and it’s been weighing on me (never mind that I was older than him and took to them like a fish).
I love this so much. You are, in fact, in the drumming heart of it right now. And it changes as they get older. It gets easier and it gets more heartbreaking. I, too, err on the side of non-intervention. Which I sometimes describe as raising independent children and sometimes as being the laziest mother alive.
And I cannot count the hours, days and weeks I've spent regretting the parenting choices I've made, replaying the awful things I've said, wishing I'd been the mother I wanted to be.
And now? I have two daughters, 21 and 24, who COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE more fabulous humans. Mostly well-adjusted, fairly happy, fierce and funny. But not great swimmers.
Thank you for this! I’m guilty of not teaching my 7 yr old anything and he’d be a cave dweller if it wasn’t for my husband taking time & effort 😬
I never thought of that side of parenting as being talent management, and it's seriously the perfect description. With my son, I struggle with encouraging him to learn new skills and stepping back and just allowing him to be a preschooler. We've had a hell of a time with swimming lessons, and this gave me some comfort.