Challenges


In the past week or so Paige has suddenly started communicating more. Using more words, putting words together and really showing that she is understanding us and trying to respond back. It’s pretty amazing.

Being a grandparent raising a grandchild isn’t easy but raising Paige certainly has more pluses than minuses. As I’ve mentioned before, getting up in the night to change her (my wife does this) and give her a bottle (I do this) means we don’t get a complete night’s sleep. Luckily my wife is able to nap during the day on weekends, which is something I can’t do easily, and I have the occasional drink. J

To be completely honest, I don’t recall having this experience with our daughters. Now I’ll admit my memory isn’t what it used to be but for the life of me I can’t recall going through this. Is it possible that my wife did everything and I did nothing? I suppose so - but I hope I’m wrong. Is it possible that it was so traumatizing that I have blocked it from memory? Maybe, but I doubt it. Is it possible that I just can’t remember what happened 20+ years ago? BINGO.

I do know that we are taking a slightly different approach to raising Paige than we did our daughters. There’s nothing wrong with our daughters of course, I just think my wife and I are older now and perhaps have a better understanding of what’s important. We’re twice the age we were the first time around, have more life experience and as a bonus my wife has taken quite a bit of training with regards to kids in her recreation field. All of these things are helping us look at raising Paige a little differently.

The most important things I want to teach Paige?

1.       Take risks. Don’t be afraid to try or to fail.

2.       Embrace education. Learn, and know that advanced education is worth it even if you don’t use it.

3.       Have fun. Take life seriously, but not too seriously. Appreciate each day.

I’m not saying this is the correct approach to raising a child, but I think it’s a good place to start.

What do you think is important when raising a child?  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sleepless: The Sequel

Was there ever a sequel to Sleepless in Seattle? I’m guessing everyone was just too tired to write one. I know the feeling. So I already did a post on being tired thanks to Paige waking up in the night but I noticed I didn’t go into a lot of detail on how that affects us. Us being me and my wife. Let’s be honest. Husbands and wives don’t always get along. Throw in a toddler when you’re both over 40 and include a restless night’s sleep and things can get worse. By worse I mean saying and doing things you don’t really intend to simply because you’re tired or in a zombie-like trance and don’t really realize it. As a husband I have found that these are the times when you need to apologize, even if an apology isn’t necessarily needed. After all, we’re both in the same boat. Paige doesn’t wake up every night on purpose just to interrupt our sleep so it’s not really her fault we’re tired. We don’t get upset with her for waking up but we certainly get upset with each other over...
Read more

That's the Power of...

Ok. People who know me know that I’m a bit of a technology geek. Maybe that’s an understatement. Anyway, yesterday we took Paige in to get another haircut. For her previous two she would sit on my lap and somewhat patiently wait while her hairdresser cut her hair. It would start out ok and then we would have to give her an iPhone to watch some videos. God bless technology. Yesterday was the first time she sat by herself. I gave her my iPhone so she could watch YouTube for Kids and she was such a good girl. Brittany did a great job patiently cutting her hair and Paige didn’t seem to even notice. As usual Paige charmed pretty much everyone that took the time to speak to her. She’s putting words together quite often now and of course is extremely polite by always saying goodbye (with waves). When another hairdresser said she liked Paige’s rubber boots Paige actually took one off to give to her. Thankfully it didn’t fit so she got it back. Raising Paige has certainly re...
Read more

Summer Fun

Image
Well it looks and feels like summer in Alberta is coming to an end. Paige certainly made this summer a little more exciting and a lot more fun at times. Being dragged around by a 2 year-old can certainly be tiring but it can also bring some laughter and joy. For example, we were lucky enough to spend 2 days at Crimson Lake at a friend’s cabin. We took Paige on a walk and managed to snap some pretty funny (and cute) pictures. Some of my favorites:   Hiding Peek-a-boo! Should I jump? Grandma & Paige Safety (and Cute) First! I find myself getting caught up in my own struggles. Raising Paige is tiring and certainly not something I expected to be doing starting in my mid-40’s but the adventure is something I remind myself to enjoy; Even during the Terrible Two’s. LOL. Paige is talking more and more every day and sometimes I’m caught off guard by what she sees and says. I hope she never loses that sense of fun and amazement with life.
Read more