Children - Here they come, ready or not!

There are all sorts of opinions on children, but I have chosen it first on my list for one simple reason. For me, having that first child was a life-changing event, one from which I have never fully recovered. Looking back, I can still remember what life was like ten months before the “blessed event” occurred. 

 

After a brief celebration, glasses raised and cigars passed out, reality struck me like a blow to the forehead. I had just shouldered what would probably prove to be the heaviest burden I would have to carry in my lifetime, raising a child from infant to adulthood. Abruptly, I sat down and watched my carefree youth vanish before my eyes.

There are books that prepare for the day to day care of an infant, but what they don’t teach you is that your child is “one of a kind” and their book was written for the other ninety nine percent of the population. It is frightening when you finally come to the realization that you are raising your child using the trial and error method.

Another proven child-raising technique is the cause and effect method, which requires knowledge, good record keeping, and attention to detail. The “I’m hungry” cry is different from the “I’m tired” or the ”Change my diaper” cry. That’s where the attention to detail comes in to play. Sometimes even this fails to work and we are forced fall back on trial and error as our position of last resort.