It’s funny how years teach so much. I’m not sure which is worse, being young without the knowledge or being “old” with the understanding that that experience offers. I watched this past week as a young woman, very dear to me, made the same mistakes that I made at her age. It was so clear to me because I was on the outside looking in from an older perspective.
This mom has a nanny for her children and she has an incredible career that comes with long hours. The bottom line with what I saw was that the children’s schedule was nanny friendly and not mommy friendly.
Why? Well, for starters, Mom got up with the children at six in the morning, nursed the baby, made breakfast and then got them dressed for the day. The nanny arrived at eight thirty and took the 3 year old to pre-school. She came back home with the baby, put him down for his nap and proceeded to watch TV until he woke up. I must add that this young woman was wonderful with the children and cared for them very well. Anyway, next she put the baby in the stroller, walked to the park near the pre-school and gave him lunch under the trees.
Fantastic! She picked up the preschooler and they walked home. She gave her lunch and then naptime, I thought. NOPE! They went to another park where the preschooler played with friends and the nanny visited with friends. They came home at about four and then she gave the children snacks and put them down for their naps at about four thirty. She sat down and watched TV until about six thirty, got the children up and handed them to Mommy at seven, when she walked in from work.
An exhausted mom had to then deal with children who didn’t want to eat dinner because they had snacked so recently. The children were wired and no matter what Mom tried, they were not sleepy at all until about ten thirty that night. One tiny little change could have made the schedule Mommy friendly. How about putting the children down for their naps right after lunch? Then after that, go to the park and arrive home with children hungry and ready for dinner and then baths. The nanny could take care of those duties and Mom can enjoy quality time with her children before putting them to bed at a normal hour. Yes?
