Tired Mom Summer

Tired mom summer is the time period after July 4th when the newness of summer has worn off and we all collectively want our kids to return to school. Bring on a schedule, the homework, and for the love of all things holy some separation for my children from each other. Where are my pumpkins?

Now there will continue to be pool time, beaches, and vacations in tired mom summer. And if you are really lucky a tired mom margarita. However, there is also time spent agonizing over camps, childcare, and whether or not your child will melt into the electronic device he/she is using because of the increase in screen time. But worst of all, the pressure of providing “enough” fun experiences contributes to tired mom summer.

When my children were babies anything was entertaining and there was no shortage of people willing to entertain them. I spent hours playing peak a boo, singing songs, and reading “Hello Fish” just in time to take long naps and do it all again. Everyone volunteered to “babysit” too. But now there are three, and they are children not babies. Gone are the days of cute clothes and sweet smiles. Toddling and playing at my feet with pots and pans has been quickly replaced with a lot of sass and “mom I am bored'.

So while tired moms everywhere try to make the summer exciting for their children, I ask this question. Why can’t we just sit around a do nothing? I still work during the summer and I am guessing a lot of you do too. However, now on top of working there is so much pressure to entertain my children and provide them with fun summer experiences. This may be an unpopular opinion but my children need to earn these experiences with a little boredom and a lot of chores.

Teaching my children that the world does not revolve around them is an important lesson. And experiences are not free, they are bought and paid for by tired moms and dads. If children learn to think about others at a young age they won’t become entitled adults.

So while I want my kids to have fun experiences. I also want my children to learn to work hard, think about others, and entertain themselves. It’s not always about them. Sometimes you have to do laundry and pick up sticks after a storm for the greater good of your family. In a world full of selfishness my greatest task as a parent is not lavish vacations or even college graduation, the real goal is to avoid raising jerks.

You don’t have to entertain your children with an experience that trumps your neighbors. We are all exhausted because it’s too much pressure to provide "enough". Parenting is a difficult task without unrealistic expectations. Children will learn to be good people if you instill healthy values in them and that has little to do with the greatest camp, lavish vacation, or any other Instagram worthy experience of the summer. Teaching children to work hard, be kind, and successfully navigate boredom is the real objective of tired mom summer. Sitting at home and doing nothing has its benefits too.