I’m A Mom… Being a protective mom, boosting her natural defences…
Posted on 10.12.09 to I Am A Mom... by JoanI’ve been selected as one of five mummy bloggers in the Dumex Mamil Gold, ‘I Am A Mom’ contest. Over six weeks, I’ll be posting blog entries related to the contest fortnightly. Do hop on over to the website to view our introduction video and VOTE FOR US! You can now vote THREE times a day!
Sometimes, I liken myself to a lioness. I get extremely feisty when I feel that my turf has been threatened, not to mention, I am actually a rather feisty person in my normal state. (Yes, my counsellor has been working hard on fixing it… which reminds me, it has been a while since I last saw him.)
Naturally, I am also very protective over my daughter. If I could shield her from all that is bad in the world, I would. If I could fight all her battles, I would. But often, I remind myself that the best way I could protect my daughter, is to arm her with her own defenses.
I never baby-proofed my house. I figured that since my parents never baby-proofed the house when I was a kid, and I turned out fine despite how accident-prone and clumsy I am, it shouldn’t be so bad for Clare either. Unfortunately for her, she got my accident-gene and gets into a tumble on her own, without needing the help of sharp corners.
At a young age, Clare has always been mindful not to play with the drawers and cupboards, because she’s caught her fingers in them once before. She is also an expert at opening and closing doors, always careful to get her fingers out of the way. She doesn’t open cupboards unnecessarily and only pulls out her books and toys, NEVER anything else like knives or plates.
We teach her at home, what is dangerous and what she should be careful off. She knows that the stove is hot when I’m cooking. She knows that she can’t play in the bathroom without me. And even though she enjoys a climb every once in a while, she knows not to hang by the windows.
Same thing with life. I try to teach her as much as she needs to know about navigating through the pitfalls and what not. I don’t know everything, as I’m still learning myself. She will make her own mistakes, and she will learn from it.
Her best defence is to not fear but just do it.
—
On the subject of defence, I’m thankful that I have a mother-in-law who is quite particular about feeding Clare her vitamins. To boost her natural defence, we just make sure that Clare rests enough, drinks plenty of water (and I really thank my lucky stars that she prefers water over any other drink), takes her vitamins and has a healthy and balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables.
