{"id":605,"date":"2023-01-11T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mykidsareasleep.com\/?p=605"},"modified":"2023-01-09T13:15:02","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T21:15:02","slug":"my-mom-mantra-everything-is-a-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mykidsareasleep.com\/?p=605","title":{"rendered":"My Mom Mantra: Everything Is a Phase"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a mom, nothing gives me more comfort than this sentence: Everything is a phase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I started hearing that\u2013we probably all did\u2013 as a child. It was a common phrase from teachers talking to other teachers in elementary school: \u201cImaginary friends are just a phase. Coloring on the walls is just a phase. Not socializing with the other kids is just a phase.\u201d Or I\u2019d overhear my parents complaining about my teenage antics to other parents, and someone would say, \u201cIt\u2019s just a phase; don\u2019t worry too much.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t give it much thought at the time. But now, as the mother of a 3-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter, I think about the phase phrase <\/span>all the time.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019m tearing my hair out because my son insists on reading \u201cThe Night Before Christmas\u201d–which is LONG book, by the way\u2013three times through while he lies in bed every night? <\/span>It\u2019s just a phase.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019m beyond frustrated because my daughter is obsessed with water and the only way to prevent a tantrum is to let her play with open bowls of water on the living room carpet? <\/span>It\u2019s just a phase.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019m about to scream into a pillow because it takes 15 minutes to get my son in the car every morning because he needs to run back inside at least four times to pee, change his socks, grab a graham cracker and whatever other stalling tactics he can think up? <\/span>It\u2019s just a phase.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My daughter keeps waking up at 5:15 a.m. because she wants to drink milk and watch Moana? <\/span>It\u2019s just a phase.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sometimes, it\u2019s the only thing that gives me solace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t face the idea of reading \u201cThe Night Before Christmas\u201d three times every single night through January, February, March, and on and on forever. The only reason I\u2019m able to do it now with any semblance of patience is because I know eventually, in a few days or a few weeks, my son will lose interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If I thought my daughter was going to wake up crying before the crack of dawn every morning indefinitely, I would probably sink into an anticipatory depression from anticipatory lack of sleep piling up. I\u2019m able to get her up with a smile on my face because I know after a week or so, after whatever growth spurt or teething phase she\u2019s passing through, she\u2019s more than likely to start sleeping until a much more reasonable hour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But also, \u201cit\u2019s just a phase\u201d makes me a pushover<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of course, there\u2019s the other side of \u201cit\u2019s just a phase,\u201d the side that makes me more lax than I probably should be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I let my daughter pour water all over the carpet because I know she won\u2019t do it forever. But probably, I <\/span>should<\/b> set strict boundaries and ban all water play outside of the bathtub or pool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I let my son change his socks for no reason and grab graham crackers even though I know he\u2019s not going to eat them while he delays our departure. That\u2019s because I know it gives him a sense of control in an uncontrollable world, <\/span>and <\/span><\/i>because I know he\u2019ll stop doing it in a week or two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe I\u2019m teaching my kids that they can get away with too many things. Maybe I\u2019m not setting strict enough boundaries. Maybe my mom mantra makes me even more of a pushover than I naturally am.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Or maybe I\u2019m being a patient mom and giving them just enough power to fulfill them on a daily basis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I like to think it\u2019s the second one, and that repeating the \u201cthis is a phase\u201d mantra allows me to be as patient as I possibly can be during these chaotic and crazy toddler years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a mom, nothing gives me more comfort than this sentence: Everything is a phase.\u00a0 I started hearing that\u2013we probably all did\u2013 as a child. It was a common phrase from teachers talking to other teachers in elementary school: \u201cImaginary friends are just a phase. Coloring on the walls is just a phase. Not socializing… Continue reading My Mom Mantra: Everything Is a Phase<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[37,19],"class_list":["post-605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motherhood","tag-tips","tag-toddlers","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Mom Mantra: Everything Is a Phase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nothing gives me more comfort than this sentence: Everything is a phase. My 1 year old won't stop pouring water all over the carpet? Eh, she'll stop soon. 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