There is this funny rule about watching children: The more adults there are around, the less children get watched. Hubby and I learned this lesson for the first time on Honeybun’s 2nd birthday when we took her to the aquarium. We had hubby’s parents with us and while perusing the gift shop we lost track of Honeybun. I thought she was with Grandma, Grandma thought she was with someone else and so forth. Turns out she was with no one and had wondered out the open front door to the street. Luckily it was a fairly quite Irish town and she hadn’t gotten too far.
I’m very conscientious about knowing where my children are at all times when I’m home alone with them. Now that they’re older, I’m not always in the same room with them but I can almost always hear them no matter where we are in the house and if I can’t hear them or have lost track of where they are, I enquire about their doings. Honeybun is learning that I just like to know where she is and that she is safe so usually quickly responds to my calls. (Another rule about watching children: if they’re quiet, they’re probably doing something they shouldn’t be!)
Most of the really major trouble my children get into occurs when family is over and I wander off to do something I don’t usually have time for. I assume the other responsible adults are actually watching my children and a lot of times they aren’t. The assumption is always that someone else is watching the children. I am by far no exception to this; I assume if I’m not in the room then the other adults are watching my kids and often don’t even think about them until I realize no one is with them and when I inquire none of the adults know where they are or what they are doing.
Mommying is definitely a learning experience and I’m slowly learning new lessons too. The one I need to work on the most, especially when baby #3 comes and we’ll have lots of family around, is making sure someone is “assigned” to watching the girls. I don’t need any more walls, floors or posters covered in crayon, pen or pencil!
