24 February - Five under Tens
That was fun. Went to visit the god-daughters.. There are 3, all under the age of ten. I had told the parents I’d be up for babysitting on the Saturday night. They were also playing hosts to two of the girls cousins. Also under age ten, I had met the lovely boys before.
In the end my friends did take me up on the offer and went to a family celebration. I thought ‘Heh? Thanks for the huge vote of confidence’ and put any apprehension at the back of my mind. The 4 older ones were watching a DVD in their bedroom after which they were meant to sleep. The little one had sucked on her milk bottle and was happily snoring on the sofa next to me. I settled down to an evening of Sky TV and in between 6 trips up stairs to try and get the kids to finally stop whatever they were doing and sleep, I watched Hot Fuzz, Catch a Fire, and part of something else that I forget. And thank god for that gizmo thing that allows you to rewind a movie as I’d have missed out large chunks with the trips upstairs. In the end what did it was having had the presence of mind not to open the gifts I’d brought when I arrived but having ‘saved’ them. This meant I could use the blackmail card of ‘If you don’t cut it out and sleep NOW, I’ll take the suitcase with the gifts back to London'. That did it, but I felt a pang of guilt about the cousins who I had not catered for. The following day H. was distinctly underwhelmed by the Patty Shelabarger outfits I’d brought her as she’d been expecting TOYS or a fun activity. Ah well, I don’t do toys, and we did the zoo last time and I’m against just going to shopping centres and mum has already done a morning of cutting out coloured paper to make frames to be decorated with assorted ribbons, glitter and other decorations…
All in all I discovered that Nintendos (and the like) are like portable TVs to kids. L. had just got her first one as a reward for doing the 12 x 12 table with not a single mistake, and they were all fighting over it but the boys had a different one and basically, they very much left you alone to concentrate on those. Even the 2 year old had a go as she can switch it on and off and draw squiggles on the pad! Incredible but true or perhaps only incredible to me as I didn’t know that toddlers were so IT advanced. Having said that she can also use a word like ‘enthusiastic’ all of her own accord. Ok, she’s 2 years and 1 month to be precise but surely that’s out of the ordinary? Clearly I had no responsibilities vis a vis homework and food was sorted so I was a kid-lite experience. I’d have an ok time with the cooking/cleaning/sorting out clothes, but less so if I had to invent activities and follow homework. Having dropped by on painful homework sessions a friend of mine had to endure with her totally useless daughter for about 9 years of her life, I just thought… ‘Why struggle, not everyone has to go on to study, let her be a hairdresser… I know you’re a family of millionaires but there’s always an underachieving one no?’
My journey back alone with a book was totally enjoyable and the best. I still think no kids works best for me.
In the end my friends did take me up on the offer and went to a family celebration. I thought ‘Heh? Thanks for the huge vote of confidence’ and put any apprehension at the back of my mind. The 4 older ones were watching a DVD in their bedroom after which they were meant to sleep. The little one had sucked on her milk bottle and was happily snoring on the sofa next to me. I settled down to an evening of Sky TV and in between 6 trips up stairs to try and get the kids to finally stop whatever they were doing and sleep, I watched Hot Fuzz, Catch a Fire, and part of something else that I forget. And thank god for that gizmo thing that allows you to rewind a movie as I’d have missed out large chunks with the trips upstairs. In the end what did it was having had the presence of mind not to open the gifts I’d brought when I arrived but having ‘saved’ them. This meant I could use the blackmail card of ‘If you don’t cut it out and sleep NOW, I’ll take the suitcase with the gifts back to London'. That did it, but I felt a pang of guilt about the cousins who I had not catered for. The following day H. was distinctly underwhelmed by the Patty Shelabarger outfits I’d brought her as she’d been expecting TOYS or a fun activity. Ah well, I don’t do toys, and we did the zoo last time and I’m against just going to shopping centres and mum has already done a morning of cutting out coloured paper to make frames to be decorated with assorted ribbons, glitter and other decorations…
All in all I discovered that Nintendos (and the like) are like portable TVs to kids. L. had just got her first one as a reward for doing the 12 x 12 table with not a single mistake, and they were all fighting over it but the boys had a different one and basically, they very much left you alone to concentrate on those. Even the 2 year old had a go as she can switch it on and off and draw squiggles on the pad! Incredible but true or perhaps only incredible to me as I didn’t know that toddlers were so IT advanced. Having said that she can also use a word like ‘enthusiastic’ all of her own accord. Ok, she’s 2 years and 1 month to be precise but surely that’s out of the ordinary? Clearly I had no responsibilities vis a vis homework and food was sorted so I was a kid-lite experience. I’d have an ok time with the cooking/cleaning/sorting out clothes, but less so if I had to invent activities and follow homework. Having dropped by on painful homework sessions a friend of mine had to endure with her totally useless daughter for about 9 years of her life, I just thought… ‘Why struggle, not everyone has to go on to study, let her be a hairdresser… I know you’re a family of millionaires but there’s always an underachieving one no?’
My journey back alone with a book was totally enjoyable and the best. I still think no kids works best for me.
Labels: kids
posted by Lisa Taylor @ 3:08 AM
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