Pet Peeves and Truth from Kids

Funny thing happened last night with the kids that I thought I'd share. Kate was getting ready to head out to her bi-monthly escape from the house, er... book club. (I'm a big believer in getting out to do something with your friends and be away from your partner from time to time. Its healthy!)

Anyway, as I was reading The Sneetchs to the kids prior to bedtime, Kate walked in to kiss them both before heading out. The oldest looked up and asked "So, is Dad babysitting us tonight?"

Perfectly honest question. However, seeing as this is a big frustration for Kate - dad's saying they've got to babysit their kids - I wondered how she would react. I certainly have never used the term around the boys.

Luckily, we both laughed about it. "No, son. Dad is your parent - he doesn't babysit you." Of course, they've got no clue what that means at this point but it raises an interesting point about kids and their relationship with their mom at an early age: Its all about the mom.

Now, I'm around the boys A TON. I take the big one to school almost every morning, hang out with everyone at lunch, take a break in the afternoon for play, and am involved with bedtime every time I'm home - which, right now, is almost every night. With the exception of an odd round of golf on the weekends, I'm even more involved.

Regardless of my amount of involvement, the kids still see Mom as the primary caregiver and everyone else as 'just a babysitter.' I guess I'll just have to accept the role. Actually, I'm going to imbrace it. I'm going to be the coolest babysitter they've ever had. We are going to have m&m's on the ice cream, stay up late, and fall asleep in the tent everynight mom's gone from now on!