February, 2012

momstown's six program pillars: our program foundation

momstown has exciting news!


Our calendars have always been jam packed with fabulous, child focused events based on early education. momstown has a 60-month educational curriculum built with monthly themes around teacher-developed activities; we’re the original mom’s network to connect both online & off-line events for moms.


Yet - momstown gets labeled with one word: Playgroups.


Not a bad word, Playgroups. Our casual playgroups are the heart of momstown, as these small intimate gatherings allow our members to truly connect one-on-one and develop lifelong friendships. But it’s certainly not all we do.


And playgroups aren’t what all moms want. But all moms need to feel connected and supported both as a mama and with her kids.
How do we merge all ideas?


Playgroups are the mashed potatoes to our steak. Comforting, reliable and important (that plate is bare without potatoes!) but momstown is so much more than mashed potatoes.  Our steak is sizzling and we need to start telling you all about it – way, way more. Being proud and loud about our educational programming, the momstown whole child vision and our beautifully structured system that wraps mama support and fun all together.


Okay, enough with the analogies…

Introducing momstown’s 6 Program Pillars which will define our event curriculum starting March 1st. momstown has always been very focused on the whole child, the complete family and early education and our new pillars give us a stronger foundation from which to build that awareness. We want to build awareness that momstown is not “just” a convenient playgroup. We’re so much more.


momstown isn’t changing anything our members love, just sprucing up our programs with more focused consistency from chapter to chapter.

6 pillars collage


Art & Music: developing creative minds

Literacy: commitment to early education

Nutrition: food, friendship & fun

Science & Discovery: Inspiring curiosity together

Fitness & Adventure: encouraging family activity

Play & Social: the heart of momstown

 

We’ve picked the very best programs running from our many chapters and created places for them in every momstown across Canada.

 

Within our 6 pillars, every chapter will deliver our top 10 programs (and more+) as the foundation of their activities. here's a sampling:

Art & Play
Our flagship monthly event based on our educational curriculum and theme of the month. Mamas and kids create a craft together, enjoy parachute and circle time, free time to socialize.

Tales for Tots
Our monthly book selection is shared in storytime each month, followed by a simple craft and free play time. Sponsored by Scholastic Canada, a book giveaway occurs monthly.

Baby Basics
Our mama & baby program is designed for moms with babies aged 0-12 months looking to connect with other moms. Alternating weekly, mamas will discuss topics led by an expert and /or create a keepsake craft in our “Baby Picassos” mini art session.

Alphabet Play
momstown’s own alphabet crafts come to life in this program focused on early literacy and letter sounds.  A different letter is featured each time and incorporated into playtime.
 

Junior Chef
momstown kids get busy in the kitchen creating their own mini meals! Learn fun new ways to create your child’s favourite snacks and meals in this hands-on program.

Music & Movement
Bring your singing voices and musical vibes to momstown music and movement where we’ll sing together, play, dance and learn!

Discovery Field Trips
Discover the world together! Fun, educational, and inexpensive field trips to local places like the fire station, pumpkin patch, petting zoo and more!

Mama & Me Fitness
Get fit with other local momstown moms! Try a new activity every class with your baby from Zumba to Yoga!

Mama Meet & Greet
Mamas new to momstown have a chance to meet one another at our welcoming  monthly meet & greet.

Crafty Mamas
For Crafty Mamas with a love for the creative.  An organized evening based on the crafty interest of the group.

 

We hope our members love our newly adapted programs and those who have thought we're just playgroups will look again. Here's our newest video to show you all the fun we have!

 

Posted by momstown mama on 02/29/2012 - 13:12
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The Grammys - Why We Gave it a Miss

julie with girlsHere I am with my top three reasons for caring about violence against women

 

Several weeks ago, I was driving with my daughters in the van and ahead of us was a vehicle that said “Halton Women’s Place”. My 10-year-old daughter asked what that was. For a brief moment I was tempted to say it’s a nice place that women go to get their nails done, have a glass of champagne and spend time with their friends. But, being a kiddo truth teller (and not a kiddo question dodger), I did my best job of explaining that it is a place women escape to, often with their children, to get away from an abusive situation.

My daughter was shocked – a stream of comments and questions including “Dads really do that to the moms in the family?” and “So the moms have to take their kids and hide from the dads?”

Yep, would have been an easier conversation if I stuck with the spa story.

Fast forward two weeks – a local mama is murdered in her home by her ex-husband (and the father of her three young children). My 10-year-old notes that maybe she should have gone to that place where moms hide from dads.

Fast forward another couple of weeks, when she asks why our family didn’t watch the Grammy Awards and I explain that it was because a man who has been abusive towards women was performing. I go on to give the history. Again, she learns that organizations like Halton Women’s Place don’t exist without reason.

When I asked a friend in education what the reaction of her kids at school has been to Chris Brown, she said “The grade 6, 7, and 8 students seem to have no problem with what Brown did. The media really didn’t cover the seriousness of the incident, and the record companies and music blogs are constantly tweeting about his new music and videos to create excitement.” She continued to say there is a perception of romance now that the abuser and abused are working together in music – like some sort of “true love prevails” nonsense.

Are parents having conversations about violence with their kids? Are we leaving it all to the media? I’ve heard people respond to the Grammy fiasco, saying that what happens between an abuser and the abused is no one’s business. How is violence against women NOT our business? How many more times am I going to hear my daughter say: “I guess we still need Halton Women’s Place”?

Posted by Julie mama of many on 02/28/2012 - 09:47
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The joy of boys

It's all over the news these days - even though it's age-old. Boys and girls are different. They learn differently. They play differently. Any parent can tell you that - and we'll also tell you that it's not a simple black-and-white 'boys are this way, and girls are that way'. There's a continuum - for both genders.

 

A recently published article asked "Are experts creating a gender war?" and quoted a number of thoughts from Michael Reist, who recently published Raising Boys in a New Kind of World.

 

I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop led by Mr. Reist - specifically on the topic of Boys and Girls Learn Differently. I also have the honour of being the mom to two boys - one of which fits the 'boy' stereotype to the nines, and the other who is on the opposite end of the continuum.

 

So do I think that experts are creating a gender war?

No.

 

I think experts are bringing more awareness to how boys (and girls) behave, and helping us as parents - particularly as moms - understand how the male brain works.

I'm a well-educated person, I'm part-way through teacher's college, and I parent two boys full time. I've volunteered in primary classrooms for 4 years now.  And I love boys. I don't always get them, but I love them. So you'd think I would have a pretty good handle what makes them tick.

Wrong.

One night at a workshop, and I took away about a million things (and bought the book!) that would help me better parent my sons, as well as advocate for them in the classroom.

 

Here are five things that changed the way I parent right away:

 

1. Boys are listening, even when they're fidgeting, avoiding eye contact, or fiddling with something.

What did our parents say? "Sit down, stay still, and look me in the eye". For some boys, this raises their stress level. Mr. Reist says one of the reasons for this is that boys' visual senses are heightened. Eye contact is not as comfortable for them as it might be for others.

Game changer for me - talk 'side by side' with my son, on the walk to school, or in the car, or while he's playing with his ministicks. He WAS listening. He DID hear me. And when I told him he didn't have to look right at me all the time, he said "oh great mom, because I really don't like that."

It was a complete relief to me to understand that I didn't have to parent face-to-face all the time - at least with son #1.

 

2. There's a reason they love video games so much.

Well that's not going to be a big surprise to the parents of most boys, but certainly for me some of the research helped me get 'why' they are important to boys. Video games are visual-spatial, the kind of interaction that many boys prefer. They feel like they're moving, which they crave, and the visual world is in their control.

Game changer for me - Does this mean son #1 can play video games all day? No, but it at least allows me to understand the need for him to de-stress a bit each day with the Wii - and allows me to think about other outlets for the visual-spatial need.

 

3. Boys love to move. And that's OK.

The movement part - we know, most boys love to be in motion. In the confines of a classroom though, it's not always possible without distruption. Michael Reist believes that classrooms need to change their environment to better accommodate boys. I agree, however since that's not going to happen overnight, we need to accept their need to move.

I've been fortunate to have teachers for my son who 'get' boys and have a high tolerance for movement. But that doesn't mean there aren't notes home about carpet time.

Game changer for me - realize that yes my son has to fit into the classroom decorum, but it's natural and OK for him to need to move. He's working on what fits in the classroom but I'm no longer stressed out that sometimes he needs to roll around on the carpet.

 

4. Boys have a harder time transitioning than most girls.

Again - we're saying 'many', not all. I have the perfect control group in my house, because my second child behaves more like (stereotyping here I know) a girl, than his very-boy older brother. So when we leave the house, son #2 can follow a complex series of directions and is ready to go before his older brother who got distracted by his reflection in the mirror (there's that visual sense again!).

Game changer for me - realize that this is part of who he is. I'm not doing something wrong. He's not broken. He needs more time, simpler directions, and more guidance. He just does. Does it frustrate me sometimes? Yes, but knowing it's part of him and a bit out of his control makes it easier to accept.

 

5. Boys like one-step, simple directions.

Wow - totally hit home for me (and this time I'm including my husband in the 'boys'!). Pick up your toys, put your coat on, get your boots from the back door, don't forget your hat and mitts - I'll meet you in the car.

Yeah right.

Game changer for me - say LESS. It's very hard for me and Michael Reist cites in his book that women say 20,000 words a day. Men say 7,000. Holy cow. So I'm trying to be more direct, and say things simply - once. It's not a magic bullet but I definitely notice a difference. And I also notice that if I revert to the usual 'explain things 3 different ways hoping the 3rd time someone will listen' that it's pointless - they stopped listening after the first direction...

 

I hope some of these nuggets gleaned from what I've learned and what educators, researchers, and parents are starting to realize about boys and girls, will help you in your interactions with your children.

One of the most poignant things that I heard during the workshop was that we need to stop considering boys a 'problem' in classrooms, in families, in society - and find ways that work for them to be successful. It's not easy when your own female brain has trouble understanding a boys' natural needs - but it sure does help to have some insight into what makes them tick.

 

And maybe makes you love them just a little bit more.

Posted by momstown team on 02/25/2012 - 13:06
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Do you have a climber?

You'd think by 3 kids in, I'd have more things figured out. But alas, as my friend Julie always says, you can't treat all kids the same because they are all different. YES - do I ever agree!

 

My third, Megan, who is now almost two years old, makes history in our house almost every day. She does things that the other kids never dreamed of trying, and of course, those things are mostly dangerous and curious in nature. As my brother pointed out, is she that much more daring, or is she simply less monitored now that we have less time and attention to helicopter parent?

 

I find personality to be the biggest factor. Megan showed her personality early on and I declared when she was one week old that THIS was the kid who was going to climb out of the crib (the others didn't).

 

A few weeks ago - that's exactly what Megan did -- hopped the crib wall without so much as a word, and made her way downstairs quietly to see where the action was.

 

It's official, we have a climber here in the family. My others were daring, fast movers and fate tempting but not really climbers. Megan has challenged any definition of "babyproofing" by climbing up and over any obstacle.

 

climbing

As a crawler and before she was walking, I snapped a quick picture of 11 month old Megan in her favourite spot on top of her brother's fire station. Well noted is the ironic helicopter flying off in defiance of any suggestion of over-attentive helicopter parenting...

 

pictures

This fast blurry picture shows Megan at 14 months on the climb up to re-adjust all the picture frames - another past time that she alone has discovered. Once I turned around quickly to find to her already on that table so we've since moved the chairs apart. All she needs in 10 seconds and I swear she races to the nearest elevation point!

table climber

On vacation this summer, the cabin we stayed in had many, many climbing points. Thankfully, she ignored them all - except for the kitchen table. Focused on laying on that table whenever possible, even climbed over the chairs laying sideways to deter her.

 

stairs

Scared of the stairs, we've always had both the bottom and top of our curvy staircase gated off to prevent injury. Not to be outdone, Megan created a game of "how high can I get on the OUTSIDE of the staircase?". Yes, mountain climbing at age one along the outside edges of the stairs! No, there's not a climbing picture because even my fastest picture would have been too slow for this mama bear.

 

climber

The other day we were in the family room and I looked up from my chair and saw this scene above, sure shooting she was getting ready for a diving leap over to the chair beside her. I ruined her plans with a distracting dose of the tickles.

 

I don't even know how to cure our toddler of this climbing thing. Is it in her genes? We enrolled in a comprehensive gymnastics class to help give Megan a place to climb and explore (that's NOT our house!) and she loves it here, but it's not doing what we hoped. Instead it's making her stronger and more creative to climb faster and higher!!

 

Do you have a climber in your house? HOW do you deter them? Did you grow 6 sets of eyes to keep an eye on the dangerous behaviour??

Posted by momstown mama on 02/22/2012 - 00:24
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Fisher Price Real Mom Moment - connecting with real Canadian moms

momstown is first and foremost and community of real moms. Yes, we're a national force, but each chapter is built on the foundation of connecting real Canadian moms - both online and in person.

So imagine how thrilled we were, when Fisher-Price came to us, looking for a way that they could become involved in honouring some of our everyday, real Canadian moms. We knew our moms would be thrilled too. So the Fisher Price Real Mom Moment was born - and each month, a peer-nominated mom is recognized for a 'moment' that another mom saw as something pretty special.

 

fp real mom kirstyLike Kirsty from momstown Oakville, who works the night shift, and then stays up all morning just to see her son take his first skating lessons - and does it because she knows how happy it makes him.

 

 

 

ticketsOr Sarah from momstown Hamilton who donated her tickets so that families could bring their children to see their first Disney on Ice show and share in the holiday magic.

 

Fisher-Price rewards these moms with a special toy for their children - moms get to choose from a trusted toy brand, and their kids get a wonderful treat!  It's Fisher-Price's way of saying thanks to the real moms that are living those real mom moments every day.

 

Kirsty's boys are loving the Little People Wheelies Stand 'n Play Rampway, and Sarah's kids are snapping away their own pictures with the Kid Tough Digital Camera!

 

Want to nominate a mom in your momstown community? Email us and tell us about her Fisher Price Real Mom Moment - she might just be our next winner!

 

Image credit

Posted by admin on 02/15/2012 - 02:00
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Have your camp memories lasted a lifetime?

Summer camps are now open for registration! As I’ve been busily planning our summer around camp dates, I’ve started to think about my own camp experience and what do I want my own kids to gain from summer camp?


Let it be said that if it were not for Girl Guides, I’m certain I would never had set foot in a tent during my childhood. My parents were creative, energetic and engaged but outdoorsy? Mom didn’t quite get an A+ for her outdoor camping enthusiasm.


With Brownies and Guides, I was introduced to a “sit-upon” (remember these?) for the campfire, s’mores and how good a hotdog could taste over an open fire, especially if you’ve been hiking forever.

 

Weekend Girl Guide camps were so fun that the summer after grade four, my parents sent me for a week to a Girl Guide Camp called Doe Lake. It was the first time I’d been away from home and at age 10 I was excited but very nervous. I didn’t go with a friend, but instead totally alone.  I boarded a bus in a parking lot and took it up north by myself, waving frantically at my parents with my face pressed against the bus window.


girl guide camp

Yes, that's me in the centre, waiting to board the bus, circa 1986.

 

My mom had read somewhere that at Girl Guide camp, girls liked to trade pins and thing-a-ma-bobs off their blue bucket Girl Guide hats. I arrived saddled with more plastic hanging gadgets than you can imagine, swaying around my head and obscuring my vision. I came home with a full head - no one traded them. I guess that was just for the brochure!


We slept in a row of sleeping bags (no air mattresses) in a big tent with a wooden base. Sleep came easily after full days with so much fresh air, tons of creativity and super activities. I was too busy and too tired to be homesick. But I recall other campers cried themselves to sleep. Camp was amazing during the day, but sometimes it could be rough at bedtime. I was proud of ten year-old me because I never cried but really, it was only because I fell asleep before I could even realise I wasn’t at home.


A highlight was the tuck shop. Remember those rustic tuck shops with an array of Mars bars and odd ‘souvenirs’?  I saved my money that week. Never bought a chocolate bar but instead bought each member of my family a cheap “keepsake” to tote home in my backpack.


When the week was over, I was sad to go home. I’d had a great time and wanted to return. On the bus home, we sang songs and I sat with a bunch of girls at the back, so much different than my trip up when I’d sat nervously behind the driver.


Upon arrival in the same parking lot for drop off, I got stuck at the back of the bus as all girls were clamouring to get off ahead of me. I could see my mother pacing beside the bus, wondering why I wasn’t the first to get off. I started to bawl.


I greeted my mother in sobbing hysterics. I’m sure she thought I hated the whole week. I’d been so brave all week, focused on camping and all the fun things, but as soon as I saw my mom, I wanted, no needed, a hug from her. I wanted my bed, my home and an indoor toilet.


After I did my independent stint at Doe Lake I participated in many day camps. From horseback riding camp (where I flipped over a horse and broke my collar bone on Parents Day) to Tennis Camp to YMCA Arts & Drama camp where we put on a Gilligan’s Island show.  Every camp is stamped in my lifelone memory along with its own song, like ‘100 bottles of beer on the wall’ or ‘Kumbaya’.


Camp teaches so much to kids – they find independence and confidence they didn’t know they had. Kids develop qualities they may never have the chance to grow under such watchful eyes of parents. They try things never done at home – like sleeping on the ground, throwing spaghetti, how to paddle a canoe or how to find the patience to sit by the waterfront waiting for a fish to jump up.


In today’s hyper technical world, camp is even more important. It is quite possibly the only time kids will disconnect -  where else will they learn to decompress and learn about themselves and natural world around them?


My young kids enjoy day camp and when they are older and ready, I’d love to send them to an overnight camp that's not Camp Grandma. Because, let’s face it, their mother doesn’t score an A+ in outdoor adventure either.

 

 

blog hop camp expo

momstown believes that the camp experience is an important one for children so is participating in the Our Kids Camp Expo Blog Hop.  Yesterday's Camp Memory can be found at amotherhoodexperience. Tomorrow, the fun is happening at Our Kids Net. 

Join the conversation!
Twitter: hasthtag #campmemories.
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/ourkidsnet

 

 

 

Looking for a March Break or Summer Camp for your child?
Don’t miss Canada's Largest Camp Expo!
February 26, 2012, 12:00 to 4:00pm, Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, Toronto
 • Find top March Break, Summer and Holiday Camps for kids and teens
 • Attend free information seminars to help you choose and prepare for camp
 • Learn about charities, discounts, bursaries and tax credits for camp.

Register for FREE admission and the chance to WIN $500 towards exhibiting camps: www.ourkids.net/campexpo

Posted by momstown mama on 02/14/2012 - 02:00
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Taking back the 'time-out'!

Time out

 

Who among us has not been part of the “Time Out” debate? Do time outs really work? At what age do you start giving them? How long should your child stay in time out? The questions are seemingly endless.


Well, I have another one to add to the mix – one that, in my opinion, seriously trumps the rest of them:

 

What do I have to do to get a time out??

 

I admit it. I’m not a perfect parent. I’ve yelled at my kid; I’ve served up cheese & crackers for dinner; I’ve played the “Because I said so” card; I’ve let the laundry pile up higher than my son; I’ve let him go over his allotted daily screen time on several occasions….. Let’s face it – I’ve amassed quite a list of “don’ts” that would place me in high judgement from the infamous Parenting Tribunal.

 

So… can I go to my room now??

 

As parents, all the books, websites & parenting experts tell us that the best way to respond to misbehaviours by our kids is to send them somewhere to be completely by themselves – in isolation of everyone and everything else – in order to calm down and “think about what they’ve done”.

 

While I’m sure that counts as “dreaded punishment” to many mini-mischief-makers, to me it sounds like pure nirvana. Peace & quiet. No one to answer to. A chance to do whatever I want with no interruptions…. What was the negative part of this again??

 

I can see it now…

 

“Oops! I forgot that you only like turkey on your sandwich and not ham. I messed up. Guess I’ll go straight up to my room and think about what I’ve done…..”

 

Five minutes…. Lying on my bed…

 

Ten minutes… Flip quietly through the latest People magazine…

 

Fifteen minutes… Close my eyes and start to drift off…

 

“MOMMY! ARE YOU READY TO COME OUT AND TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE?”

 

“Nope – not sure I truly understand the consequences of my actions… I think I need some more time to truly grasp the severity of it all… Check back with me around dinner time!”

 

Pure uninterrupted bliss…. Perfection…

 

So how is it possible that with the amount of mistakes I’ve made, I’m still allowed to walk about freely?? Someone should really get their act together and make sure that I do whatever it takes to learn my lesson (and you should know, I’m a really slow learner!).

 

They say that youth is wasted on the young – but I’m pretty sure it’s the time-outs that are wasted on the tots! It’s time to take back our time-outs and give them to those of us who truly need them – who’s with me??

 

Posted by Christy mama of... on 02/08/2012 - 00:12
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Our Family Hotel Adventure

The biggest thing I miss from my pre-parent days is travel. I’ve gotten used to the lack of sleep, interrupted showers and cold dinners. It’s the travel I miss, the availability to dart off for a fun weekend or have a great adventure somewhere else in the world.


The reality of our young family means airports and hotels are no longer common locations in our lives.  We do leave town, we explore close by and ‘vacation’ in my parents town with a spectacular lake, sandy beach and extra bedrooms. We count our beach holidays as getting away, but it’s not quite the same as hitting undiscovered turf. 


Suffice it to say, we’re not the family who makes it to Disney annually. We’ve started planning our one and only pilgrimage to Mickey’s domain for a time in the near future when all three kids are the “perfect” age.


All this is fine and dandy until the peer pressure and comparison kicks in. Around the dinner table announcements are made about who’s away from school in Mexico, what so and so brought to Kindergarten Show & Share from Disney World and so on. Then the requests come about when are WE going there too? We close the subject quickly without making promises and say ‘one day’.


What I don’t say is “on your honeymoon” or “when you can pay for it yourself”. Part of the reason I loved traveling is because it was new and fresh. I hadn’t been there before. AND I felt I’d earned it. I paid for it. I enjoyed and appreciated it.


I’m all for world experiences for our kids but if they see and do everything as kids, what’s left to explore when they’re adults? When I hit the Europe backpacking circuit after university that was my reward to myself. I recall at the time, my parents had not been to Europe themselves yet. Nowadays it seems utterly common for a child to have a fully stamped passport!


Our kids have yet to ask WHY they haven’t gone to such places. Home is a really fun spot and  it’s a place they like to be, which is good because we’re gonna spend a lot of time at casa Burton.


You can imagine the excitement around here when our kids, who don’t typically travel, heard we were off to Niagara Falls for a one night stay at a hotel. A sweet deal on a coupon website snagged us a room  overlooking Niagara Falls and with a swimming pool. Score!


No joke, our six year old daughter had her bag packed for 3 weeks. She told EVERYONE she was  going to Niagara Falls like it’s a 10 hour plane ride away.  At first I was embarrassed, underplaying it.


“It’s JUST one night in Niagara Falls Lauren…” I say over her head to her playmate’s mom in the schoolyard.


“Mommy! My friend went to Great Wolf Lodge but I TOLD her, I’m going to see the REAL giant Wonder of the World waterfall!! “


How can I diminish the proudness of “I’m going somewhere”.  Shouldn’t I encourage it? She SHOULD feel excited that a stay in a hotel is fun and exciting.  It’s a special occasion.


As a culture, we’ve lost all special occasions. As a kid, if and ever we went out for dinner as a family, even to Swiss Chalet, we dressed up. If we went on holiday it was a real treat, not expected for March Break. 


I’m proud that for a one night stay my kids were thrilled. Maybe I’m a little sad though too, that we haven’t been able to give them boundless adventure opportunities in foreign lands like many of their friends who zip away surfing, skiing or dining with Princesses on cruises.


Then I realise we’re teaching a great lesson. It’s about being together – not about what we do. With our hectic schedules, when the five of us do something  all together it IS special, we don’t need to be on an expensive holiday to make memories.

 

niagara view

I wish I videotaped the “WOW”s when the kids saw the Falls from the hotel window.

 

swimming in hotel

I wish I could replay the antics and pure excitement of getting their suits on to swim in the hotel pool.

 

butterfly conservatory

Who knew giant lollipops at the Butterfly Conservatory would bring more pleasure than dinner with Mickey Mouse?


Who knew? The kids knew. That’s why they were so thrilled with our mini adventure.


On the drive home, we asked them what was your most favourite part of our getaway?


Megan, 22 months, “Butterflies”.


Andrew, 4 years, “Rainforest Café and the chocolate milk”


Lauren, 6 years, “ Swimming and seeing the Falls, oh and WAIT! Being as a family all together in one room!”


I couldn’t have summed it up better myself.


Then came the request for us all to sleep in Mommy & Daddy’s room at home together – every night, like in the hotel. Looks like we don’t need to plan that trip to Disney anyways. Home is a good place to be.

Posted by momstown mama on 02/03/2012 - 16:58
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What I Learned While on Crutches

So I managed to do my ankle in, which landed me in an Aircast and crutches. I know what you’re thinking and for the record, I was not walking and texting. In fact, I was attempting to walk and talk at the VERY same time and managed to go over on my ankle. It’s a good thing I wasn’t chewing gum or I may have ended up in a full body cast.

julie cole crutches
Clearly this cast/crutches thing is not an ideal situation for a multi-tasking mama. To further complicate the matter, Daddy-o was out of town for the week and the affected ankle was attached to my driving foot. The already difficult task of getting various children to various activities at the same time reached a whole new level of crazy.


It was an interesting experience for me, and this is what being on crutches taught me:

  • My friends who deal with real-life chronic pain, illness or disability – I know you find it annoying and even a little condescending when people tell you how amazing and brave you are, but yeah, that. I am not amazing or brave – mostly just whiney.
  • Six-year-olds can pack their own school lunches and will include fruits and vegetables. They will also feel proud. Kids step up when they need to.
  • Crutches take the focus off a sore ankle by causing excruciating pain to your armpits. Did the people who made the crutches plan it that way? Is it some twisted method of trying to distract from pain by creating new pain?
  • Not being able to drive was like a forced holiday. I contemplated prolonging the appearance of injury, but convenience and reality won out.
  • There are friends and family members who are extremely helpful. But when help is offered, I must be clear with instructions. I should specifically say, for example, that “picking up bread” means a minimum of three loaves in a family of our size. That one loaf that was dropped off lasted 20 minutes.


The top lesson, of course, is to watch where I’m going. Curbs have a way of jumping out at you when you least expect it. Have you had an injury or illness that has caused temporary disruption to family life? How did everyone manage?

Posted by Julie mama of many on 02/01/2012 - 20:36
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