Mommathon

1. I don’t understand why everyone seems to be holding their kids (especially boys) back a year in school if they were born anytime after April 30. I have had moms say they are holding their child back because they can’t read yet. What?! You aren’t supposed to be able to read before kinder. It is definitely not a prerequisite to kinder. There are kids who are turning seven in kindergarten. When I was seven I was in second grade. I also don’t understand (along the same lines) the parents who put their kids in public school for kinder (because they aren’t ready for kinder) and then put them in parochial school for kinder again. If they aren’t ready for kinder why are you putting them in kinder at all? That said, with everything I am typing or about to type, I have never been in this situation, so I am not passing judgement. I truly don’t understand. I know that some people have some legit reasons for holding their kids back, but at some point I think some people are doing it just because everyone else is. Any insight?

2. The whole three kids thing. This is another trend in parenting I don’t get. Purses and jeans should be trendy, not humans. I especially don’t get why it is trendy to have them all as close together as humanly possible. If you can have all three before the oldest is four, that is super trendy. I had a mom tell me once that she was having a third because the second one was going to school and she was going to be lonely. What?! Get a dog or get a job or get a hobby. Babies are not companions, they are people that will grow up. You can’t keep having kids because you are lonely. Again, not passing judgement (okay, maybe a little) but I truly don’t understand how the number of kids you have can be trendy. I just don’t see people as objects or notches in a belt. There was a whole article in Time magazine a while back about this trend, so I know I am not making it up. Let me also say, that doesn’t mean that we won’t ever have another child. I certainly wouldn’t have one because everyone else was doing it though.

3. One more thing…housekeepers. I don’t understand why seemingly everyone has a housekeeper nowadays. I totally understand it if you work outside the home. If you work full-time, the last thing you want to do is come home and clean. There are also a million special circumstances that would warrant a housekeeper. I have had one before. Shortly after Colm was born my dear, dear, MIL paid to have someone come clean our house before Colm’s baptism party which was being held at our house. With a newborn and a two-year old I just didn’t have it in me to do the amount of cleaning that needed to be done for company. What I don’t understand is when SAHMs have a housekeeper on a regular basis. I see it as kind of part of the job description. I also kind of think it sends a bad message to the kids. We can get it messy, but we don’t have to clean it up. We can just pay someone to clean up after us. Lastly, who knows how many other people’s houses they have cleaned before yours. If they are using the same mops, sponges, rags, etc. to clean your house as they did the five other people before you…YUCK!

Now that I have managed to piss off a large segment of the population, especially those with three kids, who have a housekeeper and held their kid back a year…enlighten me. Help me to understand.