We talk about the sleepless nights of the baby stage, the madness of the toddler years, and the terrifying terrible twos, but we really don’t talk about the roller coaster ride of emotions that are the preschool years. What’s it like living with a kid who can now express themselves well? Here are ten signs you’re living with a three or four year old.
1) You go out with a kid who is wearing a sweater in summer or shorts in winter. I know you want to make your own decisions, I want you to make choices yourself too, but damnit, why can’t your choices be my choices?!
2) When you hear people complain about the “terrible twos” you can’t help but laugh and tell them to just wait until the kid is three. They have no clue…
3) You reminisce of the days when all you had to do was start singing the “Clean up” song and your child would be right there cleaning up with you. Now when it’s time to clean up, it comes with a whole discussion/protest/whining.
4) You’ve learned to drown out whining. Dear Lord, the whining. We thought crying was bad? Ha! How little we knew back then.
5) You get told the truth. A lot. My most recent was “Mama, your hair smells bad.” I can’t wait to return the compliment when you’re 13, darlin’.
6) You hear every little thing you’ve ever said repeated back to you. My husband was told “Daddy, this is the last time I’m going to tell you. I’m not going to tell you again!”
7) You are so, so, so tired of negotiating.
“Okay, five more minutes of play time.”
“No mommy, ten minutes.”
“I said five.”
“Five is too small!”
Let. It. GO!
8) You’ve been embarrassed in public more times than you can count. “Look! That man has a baby in his tummy!” or (pointing at the pads aisle) “Look Mommy! It’s your big girl diapers!”
9) You’ve been invited into the bathroom for a serious conversation while someone is doing a number 2. Do they really expect us to take them seriously while they’re crapping?
10) You and your partner have become pros at spelling out words. “I bought some C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E to eat after the kids go to sleep.” Why rush teaching your kid to spell?!