Call me either old fashioned or simply naive, but I'm having a little bit of a hard time catching up with this generation of parenting. I am in no way judging parents since every child is different with their own desires and readiness levels, therefore no comparisons are truly fair. Plus, it is a different world today, and maybe I'm the one that needs to wake up a little. Anyway, this is my concern.
When I think about how much has changed since being a child myself to the generation today, I am still in shock and a little uneasy. First, the way to celebrate birthdays has become pretty overwhelming. I have fond memories of being a child and having birthday parties at my house. I would invite my girlfriends, my mother cooked our meal and baked my birthday cake, and she also created games and competitions for us with prizes at the end. I have pictures of me in my little party dress running a relay race with a balloon. (I think we were supposed to run and sit on the balloon until it popped, then ran back.) Even as a little girl, I remember feeling loved and really lucky to have a mom who would do all this stuff just for me. Jump ahead 3o+ years, and birthday parties these days are a huge ordeal and very costly. Basically, we traded in the cost of time and effort for the cost of money. Parties are now held in public facilities where a room is reserved and party assistants do all the work. Ben loved his party at the children's gym. The place was huge, and it was fun to see him and friends run, jump, and swing around like monkeys. But, I know for a fact, he would have loved it just as much to celebrate with his friends at home...our house is just too small for such an event.
Second, Ben will be going to Kindergarten this September, and to my surprise, I learned that Kindergarten is full day in this district. Once again, it was only me in the group of mothers that seemed to be shocked about this realization. I have known nothing different than Kindergarten being half day up until now. I have been convinced after speaking with a few mothers and a few educators, that this in fact is better and more effective for the kids. "Especially these days where everything is faster paced and more is expected from them in the first grade on...." Now, you are expected to know the alphabet and be able to read and spell your name before entering Kindergarten, when in the past, you learned that IN Kindergarten.
Lastly, I am starting to plan out our activities for the summer break. It would be nice to find a gym class that Ben and Nathan could participate in. As I ask around, I am realizing that summer camp is the popular choice. Basically, their child is dropped off at a camp or given bus transportation to a local camp in the morning then returned home by mid to late afternoon everyday. Once again, my mouth is closed when actually, I want to drop my jaw to the ground. As I resort back to my childhood memories, I envision days of being home, sometimes bored, sometimes playing with friends, sometimes doing family activities and vacations. That's how I remember my summers.
I don't want my children to miss out on experiences simply because of my old fashioned nature or naivety. And more importantly, if this fast paced world is only going to get faster and have higher expectations on our children, I think I better kick it up a notch. For now, I am not willing to let go of some of my "old ways" and would rather keep them home with me for the summer.
