Activity #504: Keep a list of things you swore you’d never do as a parent

Nataly, the CEO and co-founder of Workitmom.com, an online community for working moms, sent me this one.

Oh, the big plans many of us make before having kids:

• I’m going to make my own baby food.
• I’m never letting my child sleep in a swing or drive her around in a car to make her stop crying.
• I’m never going to raise my voice at my child, let her watch TV so that I can get a break, or let her play with her food at the restaurant so I can finish my meal.

Right. Find us a mom who sticks to all her big plans and we’ll have to put her in a museum–you know it doesn’t happen. What happens is reality hits and we all realize that we will do a whole lot of things to maintain our sanity that we thought we’d never do.

So how about turning this into a fun activity by keeping a list of Things I Swore I’d Never Do as a Parent? Every time you do something that wasn’t part of your big pre-baby plans, give yourself kudos for being a real mom and write it down. Keep your list going as your baby gets older and if you’re really crafty, you can even add photos (say, of your ultra-happy baby eating fast food or sleeping in a swing?)

Be a good friend and share the fun with a few of your mom friends. Bring your list to your next get-together and encourage them to create their own. Then you can all share your real-mom moments and some laughs.

[Photo from rebellin.net]