Crayons For Dinner

From day one our son has attempted to eat just about everything, dirt, toys, cat food this kid eats it all. In fact, the other day he brought me a small round pebble he found in the flower bed and said “take this, it’s a choking hazard”, I think he has been hearing those words from the moment he could put his hands to his mouth.
When I had my first son I worried about everything he did, I was a nervous wreck and thought I had to be the perfect mom. Fast forward 18 years and now my 2 year old eats crayons at dinner if that’s what he wants to do. Why? It won’t hurt him and as a much more seasoned mom I also realize there is a hidden lesson for him to learn in this. As long as he is not doing something that is unsafe I’m going to let him find out on his own if crayons really taste that good. He certainly did’t end up eating much more than a couple of little pieces and this was three days ago and he’s still alive.
How often do we prevent our children from learning because we micromanage everything they do in order to have the “perfect child”? Let them learn lessons while they are still small and you have some control over their environment. For anyone who thinks that having a 2 year old is hard you have a big surprise ahead of you, teenagers are much,much worse. You can’t have your 16 year old take a nap and they are off being influenced by the world instead of only you.
In fact, while other parents are celebrating posts of their graduates and sending them off to college I’m celebrating the fact that I survived my 17 year old graduating that he got a diploma by the skin of his teeth. Now I’m praying that the cops don’t show up this weekend because I’m certain my son will be at a “graduation party”. No cute senior photos here or a missionary announcement, and guess what, that’s ok.
I’ll come back to my point above, parenting does not have to be perfect for you to be a success.
So hang on for the ride, understand that all kids are different and there is nothing wrong with you if you are doing the best you can and things don’t always turn out like the fantasy you had as a little girl with your cute babies and white picket house.
Relax a bit, and let them eat crayons.