Hey Mom!

I have had many a conversation with my daughter that starts out " mom I have a question". My daughter is an adult, a mom and a wife of a military man. He is stationed in Iraq and will be on his way home this month. Back to the question, and then she usually says "my friend" who is usually a young military wife, and then the question has to do with child development, what is normal and what should the child be doing. I do not mind answering as my training and profession has been in early childhood development. It brings to light that there is really no parenting support for our young mothers. Especially ones that are separated from their families. Parenting today is difficult. There are many books written and each has their own opinion. It can be confusing. As simple a thing as potty training has become a complicated process. You would think learning how to pee would be so easy. Not! Take a stroll down the book aisle and you will find books galore just on how to do this. I say children are not that complicated and given a moment with them they are very capable of telling you when they are ready. I was taken aback when reading that if you let your child run around free( no diaper or underwear) you can catch them before they go. Goodness it sounds like potty training a dog.

Other concerns are around what I call keeping up with the Jones. Young parents are very concerned that their child will not be ready for school and what is it children need before they get to kindergarten. Oh my! the pressure we put on our children and ourselves.

Though I do not have all the answers I thought it would be great if I posted some of the concerns that come up in our conversations, share some songs and art ideas and children's books I come across in a Hey Mom! column. If you have healthy recipes, art, books any ideas related to children please leave a comment.