First time parents are overly protective with some things and too relaxed on other things. When Little Brian was a baby we were not good about brushing his teeth, or adhering to a strict bedtime. Eventually we came to our senses and put the child to bed at 8pm each night and never miss a brushing. All of the boys are trained in proper dental hygiene. On occasion even Lincoln takes charge!
As a new parent it would NEVER be acceptable to share sippy cups, pacifiers require sterilization EVERY time they fall, NO sick person is permitted within a 2 mile radius! With two small boys in the same house, ALL bets are off.Each child has his own toothbrush, but when Lincoln uses his toothbrush on Griffin's teeth, what do you do? Two words, Take Pictures! Yes, first time parents rush to the rescue of every scrape, bump, and cry. Seasoned parents get out the camera and capture every angry and pathetic cry for future viewing pleasure.
It would seem that this decreased hyper vigilance comes from apathy. This may in fact be the case, I am not going to lie! However, it also comes from a realization that within two minutes of the "traumatic ordeal" that same child will be smiling and laughing. No matter how well you try to sterilize things and segregate yourself from society, there will still be illnesses. Yes, even if you battle the toothbrush war and apprehend the offending toothbrush before "damage" is done, the germ exchange is just one sippy cup away. Often it is better to just sit back and relax. Suddenly a shocking discovery is made, everything was going to be fine without your help.
I leave you with pearls of wisdom from Little Brian. 
I went to brush Brian's teeth this evening and he said, "Mom did you know there is a bone at the bottom of your mouth?" I told him yes and it is called the Mandible. He told me, "Yeah I knew that." I was curious so I asked, "Wow, who taught you that?" His response, "My brain told me that." "Oh I see," I replied.
We finished brushing his teeth and he asked casually, "What was the name of that bone again?"
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7 comments:
I love your observations about motherhood, and how things change the more kids we have. Ember was super protected, we never let her do anything. Just over a month ago Darla Hansen called our house and asked if we knew Grace was in her front yard. We had no idea! I guess we've been forgetting to lock the dead bolt on the front door.
I love their matching jammies! Your little Lincoln is such a sweetheart. I really got some cute pictures of him the other day. being that I only have one child, I know that I try to protect her from SO many things, and then I see your boys do some of those things with ease and safety, and think maybe I could loosen up a bit, I am sure I will with the next one. great post, I was itching for a new one!
How do you get your boys to brush their teeth? It's a struggle with Aidan. Also, in reply to your comment on my blog, you can make collages using Google's Picasa and upload straight from there. Let me know if you have any questions about it.
Your boys comments kill me! They are hilarious...and I love reading your posts! I agree 100%.
So true about first time parents, I was probably a little bit that way, now i get to ease into being a little less protective and careful right?
I love the matching pj's, so cute. And little Bri has a very smart brain :)
love their pajamas! you and your boys are so funny!
Anjeanette... Who knows how I got them to?! It seems like we layed down the law with Brian around 2years old and it was a little too late, after that everyone else came along when brushing was done before teeth even emerged...Now Lincoln thinks it is just a grand old time!
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