Welcome to Part 3 of Advice From The 80s. For those that might have missed some, you can find:
Just a quick reminder of how Advice From The 80s started:
We recently bought a house, and when I was unpacking some boxes in our bedroom, I came across one of my keepsakes boxes. In the box was a red bag with a blue border and white polka dots. Written on the front of the bag is the words: Mom's Bag Of Tricks. Inside the pouch are big index cards with advice and tricks my mom's friends and family wanted her to have. The cards all have dates on them, and they were given to her right after she had me, her first kid.
I thought it would be fun to go through these cards and post the advice on my blog to see if we follow any of the advice and tricks today, over 30 years later.
Without further ado: Mom's Bag Of Tricks - Advice From The 80s - Part 2
(Note: I am not going to edit what the people say. I will type it how they wrote it.)
Card 10:
Listen! Really listen!
My Thoughts/Reactions: I do think this is good advice, not only for a child but for everyone. With the way things are right now, I wish more people would "Listen! Really listen!" I think we would be better off if that happened.
Card 11:
Learn to laugh a lot. Sometimes the way you choose to react to a certain situation will make a lot of difference. Just laugh, laugh, laugh!
My Thoughts/Reactions: My initial first thought is...ok. I do love to laugh. But laughing is not appropriate in every situation. When I apply this to myself, I need to focus on how I react to situations. The men in my family are famous for getting angry and frustrated really fast. I know I am guilty of that. I believe I am getting better and controlling my anger and frustration, but I know I have a long way to go. So for me, focus on not getting angry so fast. Maybe that will include laughing more.
Card 12:
The best advice is to watch other children and to remember each is individual and that all are children of God. If we all could remember this all the time it would be great. Never compare children.
My Thoughts/Reactions: This is great advice. I do believe that we are all children of God. The last sentence is what stuck out to me, "never compare children." I believe I mentioned this in a previous post, I look at Asher's progression so far, and sometimes I wonder if he is behind or if he is where he should be. In the end, it doesn't matter. He is perfect the way he is. He will progress at Asher speed, and that might not be as fast as some kids, and that is perfectly ok.
Card 13:
When they get old enough to trust them in the bathtub alone for a few minutes - do your vacuuming. That way they're not in the way.
Give him lots of time with Daddy.
"Love them the most when they're the least lovable."
Make your choices such that they have the same outcome for you.
My Thoughts/Reactions: Ok. This person seems to give several pieces of advice, and some are related, and some aren't. The main one I think about is, "Give him lots of time with Daddy." Back when I was growing up, my mom was a stay-at-home mom, and as we know, I am a full-time father. So trust me, Asher gets plenty of time with Daddy. I do try and make sure that mommy has her own special time with Asher. For our family, bath time and bedtime are mommy's special time. Each night Abby will give Asher his final bottle and rock him before bed. I can only imagine how happy and sad it makes Abby when she sees the pictures and videos I take while she is at work. She doesn't get to see all of those because she works 40 hours a week. I believe it is very important for her and Asher to have those special moments together.
Card 14:
When Preston is old enough - put toilet paper on the counter they love to unroll it.
When he starts to eat solid food - get a baby grinder and grind the table food - It gets them used to your cooking sooner, its less expensive, you can also freeze them in ice cube trays for future use.
My Thoughts/Reactions: I can't imagine giving Asher toilet paper and then cleaning all of that up. I actually called my mom and asked if she did that with me; She didn't.
We never really used a food grinder. We bought a food processor to make our own baby food, and we never even opened it. That is just us. I am sure it works great for others.
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I hope that you enjoyed Part 3 of Advice From The 80s. Let me know what you think of the advice given to my mom when she had me. Do you agree or disagree with it? What thoughts crossed your mind? Let me know in the comments below.
You can also find Diary Of A Full-Time Father on:
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