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...
(More)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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When I first moved to Palo Alto, I was warmly welcomed into a park play group that met once a week. The women in this group had children around my son's age and constantly offered up their parenting wisdom.
One of the first pieces of advice that stuck with me was to "look at the week." A pediatrician eased one mom's worries by explaining how it's normal for a toddler's diet to fluctuate day by day. Some days it will feel like they are constantly hungry and others like food is the last thing on their minds. But, generally, everything evens itself out if you look at the entire week.
When I heard this advice, I realized that it is how I parent in general, not just with food. And that this weekly park date was helping me focus on the week rather than on each individual day.
It's common for toddlers to have off days...when you run out of their favorite cereal, when they are finally tall enough to bump their head on the bottom of every table in your house, or when it is a Tuesday. However, if you look at the entire week, everything generally evens out. The lows are mixed with amazing highs that you wouldn't trade for anything.
What simple parenting advice resonated with you?
