As a mama, I feel like the quality of life my kid has is on me. Especially when she’s this young, and I’m staying home spending all the days with her. I really try to give her the best life she can live and by that I don’t mean buying her all sorts of toys or letting her watch all sorts of tv shows.
Being the only child (maybe for now) and not yet going to school, I try to make up for her lack of interaction with kids her age by scheduling play dates with my other mama-friends or cousins. I can’t possibly teach her how to approach and befriend other kids if the only other person she interacts with daily is me. Through playing with other kids, I hope she’ll learn the age-appropriate social skills that’ll grow and evolve with her as she does.
#Covid19 and the quarantine life gave me a new perspective on how my own habits and practices affects the kind of life N would have. Being forced to stay indoors made me realise that I didn’t want her to grow up within the four walls of my home. I want her to know and love the outdoors like I do. I want her to know the smell of after-rain. I want her to love being with other people. I want her to love adventure.
So even when I’ve only had 2 hours of sleep the night before, I still want to take her out. A simple walk in the park. Or a stroll around the neighbourhood to spy on birds. Meet up with her cousins maybe, who all stay nearby. I cycle with her on the front seat so she gets to experience the world from yet another kind of view.
She won’t remember the toys and clothes we get her, she’ll remember the experiences and the fun we have with her.
I guess the bottom line is I don’t want her to have a boring life. I don’t want to be a lazy parent. I want to make sure I put in the effort to let her have exhilarating days between rest days. I want to take advantage of the fact that I have the luxury of time with her for now to provide those experiences and create those memories and for her.
I want her to one day look back and say “I had an awesome childhood,” and I know she’s only 1 but I think not wasting days away is a good habit to inculcate – not just for kids but for parents too.