I recently read an article that was talking about the "Millennial" generation. These are moms between the ages of 18-34. Even though I don't fall into that age category (I could easily be a mother to these women), I found the article fascinating. The article quoted one mom as saying in regards to child rearing, "I don't know how mothers did this without their smartphones, I have an app for everything." Interesting. I don't have a smartphone, I have a TracFone! I don't even know how to download an app :) Does that make me a dinosaur or stubborn? My mom has told me that when I was born in 1963, that she had me in one arm and Dr. Spock's parenting book in the other! When I had Lauren in 1996, I had her in one arm and Dr. T. Berry Brazelton's book in the other! How many moms my age read any of his books?? I guess every generation has their own parenting "expert." This article also talked about a report that surveyed over 2,000 "Millennial" moms. It showed a "predisposition towards alternative sources of information suggests that this might be the generation that ends the "mommy wars" the battle between the moms - to achieve the right way to mother." Is there a "right" way to mother? Why are were still talking about the "mommy wars?" I get so tired of hearing that moms "battle." I think it is so ridiculous. Why do we feel like we have to "compare" ourselves to other moms? It is certainly not up to me to judge another mom, because I wouldn't want another mom to judge me. Believe me, there is "comparing" even in the special needs world. I encountered it first hand a few years back. I was telling another mom of a special needs child all the different things we were doing with Dominic. Her response back was something like, "that's it? that's ALL you are doing?" I was so flabbergasted I had to walk away from that mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What I have definitely learned if nothing else, from having a special needs child, is not all therapies work for every child. You have to find what works for your child, you know your child the best. Even if you don't have a special needs child, not every two children are the same, are they? Your parenting style that worked for one child, might not necessarily work for another child, your technique might need to be "adjusted" to fit your child's needs and personality. Money was a good motivator for my stepson and Lauren, for Dominic it's not a motivator at all. I think all moms can learn from other moms no matter what the age. I am still learning things from my own mom, she showed me how to debone a chicken recently! As I head towards being a stay-at-home mom for almost 18 years, I can only remember one mom that gave me a hard time about it and decided from the start she wouldn't like me based solely on the fact that I was a stay-at-home mom. Oh, well. I try very hard to support other moms and I find I get that support right back when I need it. I think it's time to put an end to the "mommy wars" once and for all, who's with me?
We are heading towards 600 orders for Dominic's business. Since our long-term goal for Baked Goods By Dominic is having a "brick-and-mortar" and hire those with disabilities, it is essential and imperative that I continue to teach him all parts of the business. Since I prompted Dominic for so many years for speech, he has become "prompt dependent." What that essentially means is that he will look at me for a prompt, like, "what do you do next?" I do that one a lot. Dominic has been going to a private speech therapist for over ten years and she reminds me often that Dominic usually will know the answer, if I am patient and wait for him. That has been a very hard habit to break! Dominic has an incredible memory, so I put it to the test this morning. I didn't write out the steps, I wanted to see how much he could do completely on his own. We have a customer picking up his order today, but the only thing that had been done is putting the cookies into t...
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