I find it odd that this is coming up at the tender young age of barely five months old: Stupid is cool.
Every week we attend a mom & baby yoga class in Chester. The class is mostly comprised of younger (looking/acting?) moms. I don’t know any of their ages, but I’d guess no older than early 30s. This is mostly irrelevant. Lucius is easily twice as old as the other babies in class, the other regulars were born early to mid-February. They’re almost to that magic age of three months old where they are suddenly comfortable being in the world and just get it. Needless to say, Lucius looks like a champ simply because he’s been alive longer and fusses less.
So I cannot help be completely annoyed when one of these girls makes a comment like “We can’t all be like Lucius!” in reference to tummy time and his chill demeanor. No baby really likes tummy time. You have to work with them to do it and make it tolerable, or even, heaven forbid, enjoyable! Nevermind he’s been practicing about two months longer and should be better at it than your kid.
I just cannot believe my very little boy had been exposed to this attitude so soon. I worry that this will continue to come up if I do my job right as a parent and I raise him to be a smart, courteous young man. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to avoid this sentiment.
The comment reminded me of middle and high schools when it was cool to forget to do your homework, when I wouldn’t tell friends I got an A on a test because they were so proud of their C. Ugh. Why must we be ashamed of our accomplishments because others can’t appreciate the hard work that goes into doing anything well?
Contrastly, we attend a Music Together babies class on Mondays in Morristown. All the babies are about the same age, ranging from 7 to 4 months. I’d guess Lucius is the second youngest, but by far the most active. The moms are mostly older, I know one is 40.
During class, I’ll pop Lucius on his tummy to keep him from squirming all over me. Another mom saw all this in-class tummy-time-without-complaint and asked how I got him to do it, adding her son hates it. She’s also commented a couple times that seeing Lucius enjoy tummy time has inspired her to work more with her son. Awesome! This is an attitude I can appreciate.
Let’s work to make our babies learn and grow strong, rather than let them complain that building upper body strength is hard work. It is hard work and a gradual process, but you have to start somewhere or they’ll never learn. I feel this is good practice for the entirety of my little guys growth and development. Sure, he’ll complain during tummy time, but I always pick him up when it goes beyond complaining and turns into being truly upset. It does take a lot of energy and strength to developed little muscles for a lifetime of being upright.
Lucius doesn’t know how to manipulate us yet, so for now this works.
