Never Would I Ever.. Things I Said Before I Had Kids

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Before kids, I thought I was the best mom ever. I wasn’t a mom yet, but I had all sorts of ideas and judgements about how it should be done.

Now I can’t help but laugh to myself, because oh, how nice it was to be so blissfully unaware. These are just a few examples of all the things I said I would NEVER, EVER do when I was a parent, that as you guessed, I do now that I am a parent.

bestmomaward

Before Kids

Never will I ever let my kids watch TV before age 2 or use TV as a “babysitter”.

After Kids

My kids probably watch more TV than I would like. With my oldest, we did stick to no screen time before she was two years old, but if we had it on, we didn’t mind her “watching” too.

When the youngest came along, she wanted to do what her sister was doing and sometimes that included watching the iPad or TV. And the DVD player in the car is a lifesaver for long car rides!

I also swore I wouldn’t use the TV as a babysitter, but on busy weeknights, the TV has been a lifesaver when dinner needs to be cooked and the oldest has to work on homework.

Before Kids

Never will I ever let my kids junk food.

After Kids

We try to serve well balanced meals at home. And for the most part we do. But sometimes driving through Chick-fil-A is what a mama’s gotta do. And sometimes Goldfish crackers and fruit snacks are thrown in for good measure. And that sucker you are screaming for in the grocery store.

Before Kids

Never will I ever let my kids eat in the car.

After Kids

Traveling with kids isn’t always fun. So, anything to make the trip go a little easier is what we’ll do to survive. An ice cream cone? Sure! A bag of pretzels or crackers? Throws the whole bag in the backseat. And trying to get everyone out the door on time in the mornings is a little easier with a piece of toast or cereal in hand for the car ride to school/daycare!

I complain and nag about the food I find in the backseat and SWEAR THAT WE ARE NEVER EATING IN THE CAR AGAIN. I’m sure you can guess how long that lasts.

Before Kids

Never will I ever let my kids sleep in bed with me.

After Kids

kid sleeping in parent's bed
Evidence #1
kid sleeping in parent's bed
Evidence #2
kid sleeping in parent's bed
Evidence #3

I rest my case.

Before Kids

Never will I ever let my kids have a pacifier after age 1.

After Kids

*Baby cries*

Stuff pacifier in mouth frantically.

My oldest LOVED her binky. We tried unsuccessfully to take it away when she turned one, and let’s just say the scoreboard read: Sophia-1 Parents-BIG fat 0. We tried successfully right before her second birthday.

As for the second Scholtes kid- still a thumbsucker at age 3.

toddler sucking her thumb
The thumb sucker in all her glory. And no, telling her that her thumb will fall off if she sucks it didn’t work.

Before Kids

Never will I ever let my kids wear characters on their clothes.

After Kids

One word. “FROZEN.”

My kids are drawn to anything with Elsa on it, like a moth to light. So why not put our most loved character on EVERY SINGLE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING we have?! I have compromised by getting them get pajamas with these characters on them, and thankfully that has settled this argument. For now.

Frozen Elsa pajamas

One lesson I’ve learned is never say never.

Because those are things that you most likely will end up doing! At the end of the day, we’re all doing the best we can, and that’s what matters. It’s all about picking our battles and survival. Because these kiddos of ours, as lovable and huggable as they might be, sometimes make parenthood feel like a big ol’ battlefield.

Now for the fun part! What did you say “never will I ever” to before you had kids? What’s changed?

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