I'm a nervous wreck
One of the biggest joys of motherhood is worrying about your children. When they're small you worry that they aren't eating enough. When they get older you worry about if they are going to lose their lunch money or not. When they get even older you worry if they are going to bring the car back in one piece. Will they get into college? Will they find a husband? The list is endless. Post your worries here for all to commiserate about. Bonus points if you post your worries and also the happy solution. Remember this site is written by you! If you would like to submit your nail biting for all to see click here. I will choose approximately 10-20 per week to post.
Chief Mommy Owl - Is she crawling yet?
For the longest time my daughter crawled around the room backwards. She would crawl by pushing her hands against the floor which always sent her in the opposite direction. She learned to get around this way. At first we used to the laugh about it and thought it was cute. We even took pictures. But as the weeks went by I started to worry that some kind of internal compass was off. I tried coaxing her with food and toys, but nothing worked. Finally, I decided one night that I was going to call her doctor the next day. That night, she sat up on her own for the first time. We were oohing and aahing and celebrating that. My husband laid her back down on the floor to get her to sit up again for the camera and the next thing we knew, she crawled forward three feet and grabbed an electrical cord.
Hey Four Eyes- Monica S., Louisiana
My husband and I both needed glasses at a very young age so from the moment our son was born we started to worry about his eye sight. Finally, in the first grade our doctor told us that Jason was going to need his first set of glasses. I was in a panic. None of the other students in Jason's class had glasses yet. Memories of being called "Four Eyes" or "Coke Bottles" during my own childhood came flooding back. I was terrified that my child would be terrorized and ostracized by the other children because of my bad genetics. The day after he got his glasses my easy going guy headed off to school without a care in the world. Meanwhile, I cried the whole day. I was sure he would come home from school a shattered mess. When the bus dropped him off, we walked to the front door in silence. When I asked him about his day he said it was fine and went off to play. Sure he was hiding the truth, I phoned his teacher. His teacher told me that Jason's glasses had been the talk of the day, but not in a bad way. All of the other kids were jealous that Jason got to have something as "grown up" as glasses and several were heading home to ask their parents for a pair.
Late Nights Out - Theena L., New Jersey
When my daughter was in early high school she became close friends with another girl in her Algebra class. She was always asking to spend the night at this other girl's house. She rarely brought the girl to our house for the night. I began to wonder why the girls were never at our house. One night when my daughter was again at her friend's house I was watching television. I kept seeing all of these public service announcements about teens and drugs. Mostly they had the theme, "Do you really know what your children are doing when they aren't home?" I became convinced that my daughter and this girl were really out on the town instead of at the friend's house working on Algebra. I dialed up the friend's number and her mother answered the phone. I demanded to know if my daughter was there and if so, had she been there all night. The other mother assured me that the two girls had been giggling in her family room for hours and had not once left the house. When she inquired as to the emergency I explained, somewhat embarrassed why I had called. The friend's mother laughed and said, "Do you want to know why your daughter likes it here so much versus being home? We have a swimming pool."
Spelling Disaster - Myra K., Nevada
I think that I can provide the perspective of someone who is a little older than most of the posters here. My babyowls are both grown and married. When my son was in the third grade he could not learn his spelling words. Each week the teacher sent home fifteen words for the children to learn to spell and they were tested on Friday. My husband and I would constantly practice with our son, but when test day came he never did better than a C. We were sure that he was doomed to never go to college or amount to anything. Well, I am pleased to announce that our prediction couldn't have been more false. Twenty years later he has just completed his medical residency and is about to enter a pediatric specialty program.
Biker Chick- Renee T., Massachusets
My daughter was so excited when for her birthday we bought her a big girl bike. No more tricycle for her. Now she had a real two wheeler with training wheels of course. Well, after a month on the training wheels my husband and I decided to try and teach her to ride without them. We dutifully ran along side her and tried to teach her balance. Alas it just didn't seem meant to be. After many tries, skinned knees and tears, I called our pediatrician and asked him what to do. He told me to put the training wheels back on the bike and let my daughter enjoy herself. He assured me that the training wheels would come off before she learned to drive a car.
The Last Dance - Faye D., New Jersey
I have never seen my daughter so excited as she was the two weeks leading up to her first sixth grade dance. We didn't sit down to a meal where she didn't go on about what she was going to wear or who she was going to dance with. Two nights before the dance I was walking past my daughter's room and I heard her favorite band playing on the radio. I peaked through the open door to see what she was doing and saw her standing in front of her mirror practicing her dancing and she was terrible. She had no rhythm and I am not quite sure what kinds of moves she was doing. I snuck back into the hall because I didn't want her to know that I was spying on her. I was really confused as to what to do. If I said something she would rightfully feel I had invaded her privacy, but if I didn't say anything she could humiliate herself at the dance. In the end I decided that her trust in me was important and I kept my mouth shut. While the dance was going on I was worried sick. I decided to go a little early to pick her and the other girls up in case she wanted to come home. I was sure she would be crying all night. When I arrived I didn't see her out front so I parked and went into the school building. I walked to the gymnasium to see what was going on. When I looked in at the dance I laughed out loud. They all dance like that! And there was my daughter right in the middle, having the time of her life.