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No More "Pinterest Mom"

Pinterest. Inspiration at your fingertips, all day long. If you spend a minute scrolling through it, chances are you will find at least 2 projects you can do with your kids to enhance their minds, make them smarter and feel awesome in the meantime. 

Pinterest is the go-to app to find the answer for everything kid-related. You can find hundreds if not thousands of blogs and ideas to help your child develop and have fun doing so. And there are some good ones. But it's so overwhelming. 

So I have decided to go on a "Pinterest Mom" strike. For real. And here's why:

• It's Time Consuming

When I want something to keep my kids occupied I actually burn a lot more time looking it up, getting stuff together and getting them interested in it than if I had just tried to work around or with my kids.

• It Can Be Expensive

A lot of the projects actually take a fair amount of money to complete! I am just not a fan of that, at all. Since when does entertaining our kids have to have it's own budget category?

• It's Selfish

If I give my kids a project to do it allows me to detach myself from them and only connect when I want to. Instead of always being ready to take advantage of a teachable moment it can make me try to force them to learn whether they're ready to or not. I want to learn to be focused on my kids all day, not just when I have "time". It is also so easy to fall in the trap of needing them to do a special project perfectly and so take the fun right out of it. Selfish, selfish, selfish. 

• It's not Practical

Pinterest kid's rooms - I don't believe in them very much anymore. There's a few good ideas, but a lot of them are actually pretty unrealistic in real life. At least in our family's life. If you can pull it off and keep them looking awesome then I think that's great! I just can't hold myself to that standard anymore.

• It's Exhausting

Trying to always keep up with the latest thing, find new things every day, keep it organized and teach a little person how to do it can just be exhausting! For me and them. Teaching them a real life skill is so much more valuable than having 3 different kinds of sensory play dough and puffy side walk paint. Now don't get me wrong, play dough and side walk paint are great, but helping Mom bake bread and wash dishes could be a lot more fun, connecting and useful, in all reality. Or take out the reality and just make memories splashing in the puddles. :)

• The Impossible Standard

This one is related with the one above. It is so easy to start comparing myself with other Mom's. And not just with one other Mom - it's like picking the best from 100 different people and thinking I need to match each one. That's impossible! It's exhausting! And the Bible says "...and they, comparing themselves among themselves are not wise." Isn't that the truth? I am so tired of trying to live up to 100 different standards of perfect!

• This is Not God's Measuring Stick

The good news is - God is not comparing us to other parents! He created us to be special, to raise our kids in our own unique way! Be the Mom God created and called you to be. Sure, I can learn from others, but I don't have to be like others. God is not measuring my success by my Pinterest board. :)

So, when I think my toddler needs their imagination stretched and their mind developed I want to take them outside with me when I hang up the laundry. We can talk about the color of the grass, the sky, the car driving by, the towels on the line. We can count the clothespins and feel the textures of the different fabrics. 

When it's hot outside I want to keep it simple and turn on the sprinkler instead of trying to quickly throw together some kind of new water activity. I want to live joyfully, simply every single day. To tune out the world's ideas of a perfect Mom and just give my kids the best gift - my time and undivided attention.

This is kind of a new thought process for me, because I set out to be an awesome, perfect Mom which meant keeping up with the trendiest projects. But I want to go back to the old fashioned way. Nothing can ever substitute my tuned in time and attention to my kids. Now please excuse me while I go delete some unnecessary pins. ;) 

{And don't get me wrong, I love Pinterest and think it's a great resource for a lot of things! Just not as much for raising my kids as decorating or organizing my house! In my opinion, anyway.}

What are some ways you are enjoying normal, every day life with your kids?