How do you parents not go insane?
 

I had to bring my Thanksgiving trip back to the States forward at short notice because of a family emergency. So, I am staying with my sister for the next month and she has a nine month old son as well as being pregnant at the moment. She works full time and normally pays for somebody to watch him but since I am here I said for her to save the money and have me watch him.

He is a super cute kid and I love him but wow..how do you folks that actually have kids do it for more than a few days without going insane? I am not even talking about the running around, the diapers or anything like that. I am mainly talking about the kids tv shows. I like Sesame Street and Curious George as much as the next guy but wow, I think I might go insane and it is only day three.

9 months old and you are complaining about the tv shows? Watch what you want, the kid won't mind.

On another note, I am going crazy because my 12 year old keeps getting suspended from the bus. First for 3 days and now again for 10 days. We drove him to school for the 3 day suspension, but then 2 days back on the bus and he gets suspended again. I made him walk to school. I just hope he makes it there and don't decide to skip, like I did when I was his age.

Kids...

Talk to said flip. I believe firing up some 'cheeba' has a lot to do with it.
:winkwink:

He only really connects with certain shows and then he loves them and stays calm. Plus, it is part of the routine he has become used to from my sister. Curious George can have seriously calm and happy playing just by having the sounds on.

I can't even imagine having a 12 year old and all the real stuff. My mother would have killed me if I got suspended from the bus or school.

yes, let me do that and be the best aunt ever :helpme

Exactly chub. After your babysitting duties are done, you can fire up the cheeba.
:thumbsup

I have 4 kids..... now are ages 26, 21, 17 and 12... and I'll tell you this much right now, if a 9 month old is freaking you out, you may want to think about not ever having kids.... lmao

Seriously, there are days when I wish mine were that little again. As they get bigger, so do their problems and needs.... while mine are extremely well behaved, there are still problems that make me think I have just lost all touch with reality.... the shit these kids get into these days is scarey, cherish that age, when your biggest problem is not wanting to listen to the kids shows, that's the very least of your worries. lmao

Having said that.. and now that I think about it...... NO...... if I had to listen to Bob the Builder and Dora the Explorer one more time, I think I may pull my ears off my head. lmao

Once you are back in the UK, check out the BBC proggy "Big Babies"!

For starters I only let them watch shows I could tolerate.

just drink a dozen beer throughout the day. takes the edge off.

I only fire up my bong once they've gone down for a nap. By that point I HAVE GONE INSANE! :1orglaugh

Kids TV is 100 times better than the garbage we had as kids. Playhouse Disney and Nick Jr. have the best in kids programming. While I hate for them to be Boob Tube Zombies, we've usually got the TV running in the background. Oddly enough, when it's on like this...they barely pay attention to it and run around playing.

Shows that are big hits with my kids and totally tolerable in moderation.

Yo Gabba Gabba
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Imagination Movers
Dora The Explorer
Olivia
Toot and Puddle

my guy wont watch tv for more then a few seconds...i wouldnt mind if he did though..lol

be easier, he is way too hyper, he has to check out everything everywhere, touch everything, hold it up for us etc

its easier when its your own kid i think :)

I often feel like I'm the one sitting there watching cartoons, while they could really care less. :1orglaugh

TURN OFF THE TV.

thats step 1

watching childrens programing while high can be interesting.

i'm 26 and i have a 5 & 7 year old sisters and some of the shows on the disney channel arent too bad. i find that everything on nickelodeon is horrible. cant stand the majority of the shows.

didnt want to say it but i agree :P

watched How to Train Your Dragon the other night and it was pretty friggin good

I have a three year old sister and she watches the same thing over, and over, and over, and over again. I remember my brothers doing this when I was little but holy shit. It's insane.

Before anyone has kids, they should adopt a kid for a month. First week, baby. Second week, toddler. Third week, 10 years old. Fourth week, 14 years old.

Who needs birth-control.

Responsible parenting tip #1

Have 2 tv's in the room. ;)

It's not really the TV that drives me crazy. It's things like only reading 1 of the 300+ books we have, at least 20 times per day.

I want to kill Rainbow Rob.

How To Train Your Dragon has to be one of the best movies released this year.

Stinky, what the hell is he getting suspended for???

i like harry and his motherfucking dinosaurs

Have you been taking some of your own advice today?

make him walk , and make him watch that movie "freeway killer" about the gay serial killers who picked up hitchhikers and sodomized them and killed them.

Smoking pot doesn't turn you into a douchebag. For him, it just comes naturally. :winkwink: :1orglaugh

lol..how the hell have I never seen that? It is like that old Delimitri video but worse. I am pretty sure UK kids shows are only developed by people on acid so that one isn't too far off.

Not my kid so I didn't pick which shows he got into. Plus, I can't hate Sesame Street or even the Cat In The Hat (is that Martin Short voicing the cat btw?) it is just the repetition.

He wrote "fuck" on a seat, and the second time he was spitting on the bus. Pretty stupid shit, but they suspended him which is a pretty serious offense in my household.

I don't let him swear, and I have never heard a bad word come out of his mouth, though he did admit to me several times that he swears around his friends. Spitting... now that is just stupid, he should know better.

Yeah, he doesn't really watch it as much as he likes it being on in the background and he has certain shows where the music really chills him out (elmo and something about Word Girl?).

Its great to spend time with him and I am pretty sure he will take his first step on my watch. So, it does even out.

Well first of all I don't just let my kid watch tv because of the commercials. Can't stand ads. So we have netflix and tons of baby/kid dvds. Personally I have never watched much tv so it's not a big deal to have it on now. I'm usually at my computer anyways.

Yeah not everyone is cut out for kids. I was never sure I would have one, then eventually the time seemed right. Even then we talked and debated it for months/years. I was 34, not in my early twenties making a mistake (like so many down here in louisiana). I made sure I was at home, NEVER intended to work/be pregnant or send my kids to babysitters. We own a house, baby had her own room and playroom, and everything seemed like it should. But again, it's hard.

I say this now; I was 100% ready to be a Mom, but I wish I had been 150%. I like to micro manage and be in control of everything. Letting go of that has been the hardest, but I think as a person it has mellowed me out a lot. When at the doctor and hospitals giving birth several people commented to my husband and I how calm we were, surprised it was our first.

Right now my 11 month old is on the verge of taking her first steps. Baby-proof-arama. The other day she pulled herself up and can now reach the top of my computer desk enough to pull things off if they are close to the edge. It is amazing to see yourself in this little person and watch them change and grow in a day's time sometimes it seems! Let me also add you need a Daddy you can count on for your kid, or you'll go nuts. They need that in their life too.

It is really gratifying if you are ready for it. I hit 30 and really started thinking about how I wanted someone to be around for me when I get old, someone to influence and pass on my wisdom and share lots of happiness with. Nothing worse than an old person who is cranky all the time and never had kids. I just want one.

It was pretty stressful going through pregnancy and this first year. People say "fast living" is when you party hard and live on the edge. No, fast living is the first year of your kids life, seriously. I don't care how much cocaine you do, you haven't lived til you raise a child. LOL I could go on and on.

ps. I gave birth drug free all natural. Wow amazing what your body goes through. The different pains, the levels of it, and how your body handles it is crazy. But I did it the natural way and have no regrets. I'd say I would do it again, but I don't need anymore kids now! haha.

I will admit, that in the last couple hours I have fired up the DVD drive on my laptop while I work and watch him.

my kid didnt really watch any cartoons or tv until she was almost 2 or so. Up until then it was all childrens music ...you just get used to it lol

she is almost 6 now and she has a few shows she likes to watch - she would watch more if it was up to her but i feel guilty letting a tv " baby sit " her

Bah, every kid swears. The important part is getting it through their head when it is and isn't appropriate.

Walking to school through piles of snow might help LOL.

:1orglaugh

birth to 3 years are the easiest years. From 4 onwards they get opinions on everything and learn how to push your buttons. Got a 33 year old who still knows how to piss me off.

Enjoy the 9 month old one. They're dead easy to deal with except for teething.

When you are calm and at ease enough to sit back and watch life, you realize there is ALWAYS a balance.

So when it gets really rough, just know it will flip back. When we have a bad day, it is almost always followed by a really good day. And when we have a good day I am thinking about how the next day might not be so easy. lol

But if you just bitch at your kid, and don't give them the time they need, of course they'll make your life more difficult. I'll play and play with my daughter just so she tires out and sleeps, and then I can relax. Opposed to getting frustrated with her and her crying and us both being stressed out. But so many people make kids and aren't ready, and they end up making kids with all these psychological issues because they are nutjobs themselves.

And people who wish their kids were babies again. Puhleeze. Babies are adorable, but I wanted to make another person, not just a baby. I can't stand that puppy syndrome shit!

In the end if you are ready, it is worth it. But tread with caution ha ha

My parents never heard me swear either. Heck, they still don't and trust me I have a potty mouth.

The spitting thing my mom would have been upset about because of it being 'rude' but I think she would have gotten over the swearing if I ever let her hear it back then.

from 4? mine is already so opinionated in her ways, I can't imagine what she will be like then. She's coming up on 1 at the end of November. :1orglaugh

It is all PBS...which, really isn't that bad, I suppose.

Sponge Bob was made for pervs and stoners. Best cartoon high.

And yes, pot is how us parents do not go insane.

Playhouse Disney and Nick Jr. don't play any commercials but for their own shows.

That is one thing that I LOVE!

I did it 10+ years and woke up and realized my holidays weren't mine anymore. People get jealous and resort to guilt to motivate you. You end up becoming divided with your partner and need a vacation from your vacation.

This year, I am divorced, taking my two boys to a Sandals resort prior to Xmas. This year its all about me. Do the same.

Kids are better the older they get. My 9 year old is on facebook and watches football with me...best time ever. My two year old is a walking death trap, no rest.

I'm going to San Fran in a week for 10 days..I'll save it for then.

yup...he is teething for sure

im tired of hearing people say they want kids so they can have someone there for them when they grow old.. go to a retirement home and see thousands of old people who have kids and their kids disappeared..

what makes u think ur kid will want to take care of u when you are old? chances are they will send u to a retirement home and call u once in a while to check up on u

as for me im not having kids, i think its selfish unless i can guarantee the kid a 100% easy life.. who wants to work their whole life and worry about shit? im sure tons of people wish they were never born...

and i think its stupid to have kids when u barely have enough money to support yourself... anyway the world is too over populated.. we need to stop popping out babies..

actually its probably people like you that should be having babies instead of all these third world 12 children freak families where at least a couple die from starvation.

Why on earth would you want your child to have a 100% easy life? Good life, of course, better than yours, that's a common desire of parents. But 100% easy?

A lot of what you said is true. But to be negative about your children abandoning you isn't reason enough for everyone to not have kids. Sounds like you've seen too many negative experiences, I can relate to that.

I also know many older people who raised well balanced humans and enjoy many years of happy family time. That's what I am going for. :)

Because sometimes life is so tough, you just don't wish that on anyone, especially your kids! However as I have gotten older, and through the rough spots, I appreciate my life experience and wisdom and want my offspring to learn too.

The hardest part is watching that, but life is full of hard knocks and it is what makes us who we are.

I think most do go insane if they are not ALREADY insane to begin with