Thursday, January 6, 2011

Not a baby anymore!

Emma turns 7 in just a couple of days - yep 7, no typo there!  Hard to believe how fast it went, I literally feel like we skipped a few years.  I'm starting to really understand the whole "they grow up in a blink of an eye" and "they'll be grown before you know it" statements!  This is the last year she legally has to ride in a booster seat and her last year before officially reaching tweenhood!  CRAZY!  This last year has been one of the hardest parenting years to date - I've shed many tears and punched many pillows in the last week year.  Sometimes I wonder where I've gone wrong and while some things I recognize there I could have done different or handled a differently, other things I realize they are just her personality and I don't know how to parent her personality effectively.  The last year or so has also been the transition to making sure her morals and values are shaped and she knows why not just making sure she looks both ways before crossing the street and reminding her of her "please" and "thank you's".  I now how to worry about boys and monitor what she watches on TV since she has moved past the safe zone of what was once Noggin.  Not only does Degrassi come on during the day but I've had to put a stop on shows as simple as iCarly that encourages lying and being sneaky - Emma's two biggest issues.  Last year I had to address a SERIOUS issue with the teacher regarding inappropriate behavior from a boy in another class.  This year when she announced she had a boyfriend, her teacher thankfully addressed boyfriend/girlfriends with the entire class.  Other kids were encouraging her to kiss the boy.  What happened to boys having cooties in first grade?  The internet is obviously, also, not a safe place.  She has to play near me and only on nickelodeon, disney or pbs websites.  Last night, we were looking online for images of horse cupcakes for her birthday and a photo of a woman with icing on her bare breasts popped up.  Emma giggled and asked why that was there and we discussed how it wasn't appropriate.  We kept scrolling and another woman in a very skimpy bathing suit popped up - we had to end our search.  It's so hard to protect our daughters when you can't even do something as simple as look for images of how to make horse cupcakes! 
As she approaches the upcoming years we'll be reaching the birds and the bees.  YIKES!  She has already mentioned to me that she knows how to spell s-e-x (she spells it, but doesn't say it) but I haven't been able to ask her what she thought it meant.  She won't be getting the details of sex just yet, but she'll be learning a little more about her body this year. 
She asked me last night why I was married twice.  Thankfully she got up right after asking, because I had not yet thought of what I would ever say to that.  She knows her Dad and I were married but she assumes Matt has always been around (funny the way kids think!).  My brother and his wife are separating.  My sister has gone through a divorce and then remarried while Emma has been old enough to know what is going on.  I worry this might skew her image that marriage is supposed to be forever.  I don't want her to think that relationships are dispensable. 
I know this blog has been all over the place but it's hard to believe she'll be 7 and all of the ways I now have to think of to protect her.  What is she hearing on TV? What are those song lyrics (ahem Katy Perry and her music video that gets played on Nick)? What are the kids on the playground telling her?   What types of clothes are they marketing to her age?  There is so much I have to teach her before she reaches the critical teen years and I wonder how successful we'll be! 

2 comments:

  1. Happy (almost) Birthday Emma!! Good luck Heather! Parenting is hard work... sounds like you are doing a great job though!

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  2. Oh man, this post makes me teary. I cannot believe seven years has passed since Michael called and said "it's time." He was such a jokster that I didn't believe him - but he was right, and Emma was born less than 2 hours later. I thought Emma was the most beautiful baby ever - you were the first friend to have a baby, so I was loving it! And then we babysat, and Emma got a big old red bump on her forehead :) Time has seriously passed by too quickly, and I don't like it. I know you are being a great mom and Emma will thank you for that one day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDDO!!!

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