If any of you don’t already know this, I fill many of Falco’s waking hours by running errands. We only have so many playgroups and classes to go to, and he gets super antsy and whiny and destructive at home. So, what’s a mother to do? Go to the grocery store and bank and Target and the mall and drugstore… That’s what. I have often worried that I am doing a bad job because I’m not constantly doing kid-centered activities with him, so I was happy to read this in a Salon article:

“There’s also a misunderstanding of what’s worthwhile to do with your child and what’s not. Doing the things that our supposedly neglectful parents did, like toting us around town, from the dry cleaner to the grocery store, that’s all incredibly informative and worthwhile for kids. It’s better to do that with your kid than plant them on the floor with a Fisher-Price learning table that has 25 noise-making buttons, while you’re checking your e-mail.”

I still do the occasional email checking in the brief moments Falco plays alone, but more often it’s me and him running the streets doing important things like buying dish soap. It feels good to read that my mothering style is worthwhile!