My Week as the Best Mom Ever

Mom-guilt. It's so prevalent; always hitching a ride on our heart-strings. Mom-guilt nags and whispers into our ears about how very many areas we are failing in and how others seem to have it all figured out. Mom-guilt knows that motherhood is a lengthy journey and it's all set for the ride. It follows us while we switch our baby from breast-milk to formula, it convinces us to make our own baby food at midnight when we could really use the extra sleep. It keeps us from happily singing along to the car radio with the kids as we wonder about our choices for preschool. Mom-guilt, you are the worst.

A few weeks back, I passed through our living room and noticed my catatonic son in front of the TV. Dora was holding him captive and multiple attempts to tell him it was time for dinner fell on deaf ears. Hola son, this is no bueno. He stared right through me; it was terrifying. As I stood there, dumbfounded, a ticker-tape of friends whose kids aren't allowed to watch TV ran across my brain. There are the studies about screen-time, the inquiries from the pediatrician about how much TV your kiddo watches, and the comparisons on the playground as you lie to your mom-friends about the one show your little one is allowed to watch a day. Guilty, guilty, guilty. My dude was benefiting from a tired mom who didn't mind if he watched "just one more show" as she snoozed on the couch and the baby took the opportunity to run the house, Lord-of-the-Flies style. The moment had come for a screen-time makeover. 

As I do with any of my fancy new ideas, I dove right in. My goal was to get my crew outside into the big, beautiful world. The next morning was abnormally cool for Texas in July. The kids were up at their usual ungodly hour and we hit the streets in our gigantor double stroller. I was able to get exercise, the kids were breathing a little fresh air, and most importantly, the TV was off. Winning all around, I'd say. We even stopped at the park and the wee ones enjoyed a little playground-fun in their pj's. (Seriously guys, at this point, it was only 7:30am. I'd have been excited to have the park to ourselves, except for the thought that other families might actually still be SLEEPING.) Later that day, we took our party to another park, fed some ducks, and walked around the pond. Both Barrett and Hadley had that sweet flush to their cheeks of kids enjoying the good life outside. Later after dinner, we took a victory lap around the neighborhood and enjoyed waving to our neighbors who seemed surprised to find me outside with my children. (I have a hunch they'd always suspected we had some sort of ailment that kept us inside, hiding from the sun.) That first day of screen-freedom, we were at home long enough for meals and naps. It was beautiful. Everyone was happier, there was less fighting, and we all slept soundly. 

The next several days continued in a similar manner. There were walks, bikes, picnics, meeting new friends on the playground, peeing on trees...the world was our oyster. The freakishly cool weather seemed to be God's very personal gift to me for being a mom who was determined to better myself and wanted to color my childrens' world. Riding bikes in the middle of the afternoon did not, in fact, induce heat stroke or sun poinsing. It was amazing! The more we were outside, the less the TV was on and the less Barrett asked to watch anything. This was a new era! 

Exactly one week after Skip the Screen began, the Texas heat cranked right back up to boil-the-flesh hot. The morning walks were passed up and the bike found regular residence in the garage. Dora began showing back up at our house...little chica astuto. My reign as the Screen-Free Queen had lasted seven days. Clearly, Texas summer is just not the time to shirk the mom-guilt when it entails 100-degree temps. And anyway, the kid's Spanish has really improved...