On Parenting...A Second Time

Having just blasted the entire Jblogosphere for being "over", I now refer to an excellent post by Mother in Israel about raising kids "by the book". It really hit home.

How many times have we thought about the stupid things we did raising our children and how we would do things differently if we had another chance (indeed, our younger children are generally the beneficiaries of our earlier mistakes).

Well, MHW and I really have the opportunity to put our live's lessons to work with The Toddler. There are thirteen years separating TT from OYD. We have raised four children, done a lot of things right and made many mistakes. We go by "the book" but it is the book that we've written, not read.

Case in point. TT just turned three and we figured she was ready for toilet training. We figured, but she didn't figure. After a week, it has become quite clear that while she will humor us by occasionally going in the potty (and getting rewarded with a marshmallow) she is just as happy to revert to form. She is simply not ready. We can either stress over it or give up for now. To paraphrase Mother in Israel, I am quite certain that she will not be wearing diapers when she walks down the chupah. We decided that whether she's three or three and a half is not important.

MII's post was a reminder that we've been given the opportunity to channel our angst over what we may have done wrong in the past into action. What a blessing.