Friday, June 17, 2005
Moved In!
Visit me at my new website - anniecrawford.com
I have internet again, hooooraaay! Today is our first day in the house, and it is a mess, but my blessed techie husband made sure we would have cable on day 1. We have enjoyed an adventurous week. Last Sat. and Sun. we moved out of the old house and into a storage unit. We spent sat. through today at a relative's house. Last Thursday through the Tuesday of our homeless visit with family, it would seem that my youngest (14 mo.) had the measles. Or a strange chicken pox. Whatever it was, she had a fever 3+ days and a terrible bumpy rash that covered her entire body, crevices and all. We learned a little bit from this adventure.
Children do need routine and structure; not ridgidity or oppression, of course, but a rhythm to life that sets them in an atmosphere of security within which to relate, play, learn and create. The more factors that change, the more those days need to cling to what routines might still be maintained.
Poor Audrey (the youngest) had a rough time, leaving her house, all her toys, living in a strange house with three eager to touch her children, and sicker than she has ever felt. I found that the more I was able to incorporate the familiar amidst the new, the better she was able to cope. That soft familiar blanky and wee Piglet stuffed animal. Her most usual and favorite foods like yogurt and whole wheat pasta. The more I worked to get her sleep schedule as it was at home, the better she slept, woke up and played. The days I tried to skip her morning nap in order to keep up with the family of older children, she faired noticeably worse than those I drove a separate car so that we could make it home to rest before lunch.
My eldest was more adaptable, but I found that she did well as I quickly created a new "
vacation" routine. We joined in our host family's morning routine and kept it every day. We enjoyed a movie time after lunch and worked hard to make nap happen this week. We allowed her to stay up later with the older kids, but put her to bed in the same manner and little routine we always had at home.
I believe children need new adventures and novelty woven into their days, yet, especially the younger they are, they still require the familiar as a background for which the novel can be interpreted and drawn into the story of their little life. Without enough of the familiar, I don't believe the poor things can tell up from down! It is our privileged job as moms to be the ones who can read and interpret how much familiar our sweet child needs along with the new.
Children do need routine and structure; not ridgidity or oppression, of course, but a rhythm to life that sets them in an atmosphere of security within which to relate, play, learn and create. The more factors that change, the more those days need to cling to what routines might still be maintained.
Poor Audrey (the youngest) had a rough time, leaving her house, all her toys, living in a strange house with three eager to touch her children, and sicker than she has ever felt. I found that the more I was able to incorporate the familiar amidst the new, the better she was able to cope. That soft familiar blanky and wee Piglet stuffed animal. Her most usual and favorite foods like yogurt and whole wheat pasta. The more I worked to get her sleep schedule as it was at home, the better she slept, woke up and played. The days I tried to skip her morning nap in order to keep up with the family of older children, she faired noticeably worse than those I drove a separate car so that we could make it home to rest before lunch.
My eldest was more adaptable, but I found that she did well as I quickly created a new "
vacation" routine. We joined in our host family's morning routine and kept it every day. We enjoyed a movie time after lunch and worked hard to make nap happen this week. We allowed her to stay up later with the older kids, but put her to bed in the same manner and little routine we always had at home.
I believe children need new adventures and novelty woven into their days, yet, especially the younger they are, they still require the familiar as a background for which the novel can be interpreted and drawn into the story of their little life. Without enough of the familiar, I don't believe the poor things can tell up from down! It is our privileged job as moms to be the ones who can read and interpret how much familiar our sweet child needs along with the new.
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