About Rebecca Eckler
Since becoming pregnant with her daughter Rowan, Canadian journalist and author Rebecca Eckler has penned three hilarious books, including the best-selling Knocked Up. Catch Rebecca’s weekly unique perspective on motherhood and single parenthood.
Do You Sound Like a Mom?
eckler plus one: parenting styles canada
(Aug.23.11)
Do I really sound like THAT?
That’s the question I’ve been asking myself just having just returned from a child-free vacation (I mean, my daughter wasn’t with me, but boy were there a lot of other children around.). I got to pretend for a few days that I didn’t have child. I saw what it was like to be a mother on vacation with children without having my own child with me.
Now, pre-kids, the screaming babies in the pool, the young boys throwing balls in the pools while I tried to do laps, the kids running around the lobby, and toddlers having tantrums, probably would have bugged me, especially on a relaxing vacation.
But they didn’t annoy me these children (they just made me miss my daughter.) Whenever I saw any other children, I’d just miss mine and think how cute kids are. But the mothers and fathers?
There wasn’t anything WRONG with them, don’t get me wrong, but, my god, did I notice a difference between having to BE a mother with no child and just sitting back and watching other people BE parents with children.
Simply put: If you are a mother or father and you didn’t know this about yourself, you make a lot of demands. And I mean A LOT!
There were mothers yelling at their children to smile for the camera. Sometimes this took up to five minutes while I thought, “UM, your baby is six months old. I’m not sure she gets the whole smiling at the camera thing.” But these parents kept trying and trying and trying. “Over here! Over here! Smile over here!” they’d say five hundred times.
And oh how many times did I hear, “DON’T RUN AROUND THE POOL!” At first, parents would say once or twice before becoming completely impatient and yelling, “I TOLD YOU NOT TO RUN AROUND THE POOL!” Do I sound like that with my daughter when I’m on vacation with her? I mean, I tell her to smile for the camera and not run around the pool. But in that tone?
And, of course, there were the tones of mommies saying, “You need sunscreen lotion. Just STAY STILL FOR A MINUTE! STOP MOVING” many, many times. I was exhausted just watching these interactions.
And then there were the mothers who tried mightily to convince their children to go to the kids club. “You’ll have fun there,” they’d said. “Look what they’re doing today! Turtle watching!” And, almost all of the time, they kids would refuse and the mothers would have these deflated looks on their faces, as if to say, “I’m on vacation too!”
And then, of course, at dinner, parents would be screaming at their children to calm down and eat slower and “YOU JUST SPILLED THE APPLE JUICE!” and if you “Don’t calm down you’re going to bed RIGHT NOW!”
I watched all this in awe, thinking, “Wow! Do I sound like that too?” And, yes, I probably do. Do you?
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