parenting - Mission: Milspouse

I’m Not a Perfect Parent (and Neither are You)

by Sarah Peachey | Apr 28, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Household 6

Recently, my 6-year-old had a homework assignment about creating a chain reaction. We drafted our plan using sketches of how we would set up dominoes to fall over various surfaces before launching a car through a loop-de-loop. We spent hours setting up dominoes, knocking them down by accident, and starting over. Finally, everything was in position and still standing despite two younger siblings “helping.”

My 6-year-old got into position and gently tipped the first domino. We watched them fall, hearing a satisfying clink as each domino made contact with the one in front of it.

Finally, the last domino began to fall. It tapped the car, and…

Nothing.

Hours of trying to make it work and it didn’t.

My daughter was upset, and honestly, we might have been overly ambitious.

That experiment got me thinking about our current struggles as parents.

Please Don’t Fuss At Me

by Retired Blogger | Apr 11, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Household 6

Like much of the rest of the world, we are social distancing, staying in our house, enjoying the abundance of quality time with the members of our household, and attempting to conquer this homeschooling business.

The toddlers have no idea anything is wrong globally. To them, their older brother is just home all the time to play with them. For me, I am trying my best to make sure my 7-year-old doesn’t fail first grade. I know, is that even possible? During this time, all of the kids should be receiving a grade of grace since mom and dad hardly can replace the trained professionals stocked with an inconceivable amount of patience that aren’t keeping multiple toddlers from applying Play-Do to the laptop while big brother does some math before lunch.

We are wrapping up our third week of our new normal, and to be honest, my standards of life have greatly been lowered.

AWTR Show #714: Sharenthood

by M:M Command Team | Feb 3, 2020 | Podcast

In Sharenthood, Leah examines the implications of “sharenting”―adults’ excessive digital sharing of children’s data. She outlines the mistakes adults make with kids’ private information, the risks that result, and the legal system that enables sharenting.

Creating a Mom-Guilt-Free New Year

by Retired Blogger | Jan 2, 2020 | Blog, Experience, Financial Planning, Household 6

The weary woman glanced around her house and sighed. With the holiday season officially over, she was at a loss for what to do with her family for the next couple of months. Christmas movies had been played and replayed and new toys had already become too familiar, but the kids were driving her crazy… so the woman wracked her brain for some kind of creative inspiration.

Limited options, however, made creativity hard. January meant no overspending because she and her husband had already agreed to stick to a strict budget and focus on saving. Sporadic trips to the movie theater, drives to the city, and visits to the children’s museum were supposed to be out of the question.

But while she stood there, feeling helpless and at a loss, Mom-Guilt reared its big, ugly head and nagged at her. You can’t just stay home, you need to give the kids experiences. You’ve got to push past your limit of too tired, you’ve got to spend money in order for your family to enjoy life. She could hear it, but she shook her head and ignored it for just a bit longer…

And that’s when she saw it. The pile of barely touched board games on the dining room table. Maybe, she thought.

Little People, Big Emotions

by Retired Blogger | Oct 3, 2019 | Blog, Deployment, Experience, Household 6

There I was, that mom with a screaming toddler on the floor of Chipotle. My blood pressure began to rise, I started to feel my facial pores open up, and could feel my oversupply of milk leaking. There I was, with two small humans and no spouse.

There I was, feeling like a failure.

Being a mother to a toddler is full of amazing firsts, a lot of joy, and a heart filled with love. It can also bring about challenging times. On top of those challenging times, let’s add in a new baby sister to the mix and a deployed dad. As a mother, you start to see these big emotions come through in your child—you want to help, but don’t know how. That night at Chipotle, I knew something had to change or it was going to be a long deployment.

10 Ways to Support Your Child with a Learning Disability

by Sara Jane Arnett | Sep 4, 2019 | Blog, Career & Education, Experience, Household 6

I have a child with a learning disability.

He has struggled academically and socially to “keep up” with his peers and grade level since Pre-K. As we begin his 4th grade experience in a new school, in a different state, with a number of changes (to include deployment in the mix), I need to gather my thoughts and streamline my efforts that will set him up for success this year.

Let’s do this.

8 Tips for PCS Travel with Young Kids

by MilitaryByOwner Advertising Inc | Jun 24, 2019 | Blog, Expert, PCS

A PCS is hard enough, don’t you think? Then, when you add young kids into the mix, you’ve entered a whole other level of complicated. But what about their PCS travel experience? How do you prepare for that?

Show #695: Military Spouse Career Connection and ZERO TO THREE

by M:M Command Team | Jun 17, 2019 | Podcast

On this episode, we have a double feature. First is Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Gary Profit, the senior director of military programs for Walmart, here to talk about the Military Spouse Career Connection program. Just six months after launching in November 2018, Walmart is announcing that the company has already hired nearly 6,000 military spouses. The program gives hiring preference to military spouses who seek employment with Walmart or Sam’s Club.

The Struggle of Communication

by Mary Spangler | Apr 23, 2019 | Experience, Household 6

When my son was around 18 months old, I started to worry about his ability to communicate. By the age of 2, it became an even larger concern, as most kids by that age are able to say around 50 words and string together a sentence or two. By 2, he had less than 20 words in his vocabulary and struggled to communicate with us. I wondered if I should get an evaluation with a speech therapist, but being that he’s my first child, I wasn’t sure if what was going on was normal.