To think they are lying

[Fairyloo]

Just read article about being a busy working mum (on back of new SJP film) won't in article are saying that they haven't had a uninterruped phonecall for years? And not had full nights sleep for years nor a bath!

Now I'm busy and tired but still manage a bath a full night sleep and an uninterrupted phone call.

Do you? Or is it really that busy

Well I can honestly say that I never had an uninterrupted bath for about 13 years! (unless I was on holiday)

Not because of the kids but my dog used to sniff and snuffle outside the bathroom door, then he'd lie down for a while, then get up sniff and snuffle again, then start howling

He hated me having a bath unless I let him in (just the bathroom not the bath )

I could have a shower no problem, just not a bath.

i dont do baths either, i've tried but i cant stand them, 5 minutes and i'm done. whereas i can spend 45 minutes in the shower easily-uninterupted!!

Well thanks, those of you calling people martyrs and saying we have no parenting skills. thanks for making me feel like a big fat failure.

and how many minutes have I spent on MN> Probably about 30 all in all, that's like two here, five there, another two here. and for most of those ds was climbing on me, trying to get my tits out and crying and pushing me if he couldn't. We are trying to wean at the moment.

I have also been on here with cbeebies right next to me.

If I tried to have a bath I would get two minutes in the bath. Same with the phone but he shouts constantly at the moment so I have to hide somewhere.

I mean FANTASTIC if your children behave really really well and you get to do these things. I'm really pleased for you but just please f*ck off.

booyhoo Tue 20-Sep-11 11:35:43
agree with the martyr comments. some people make life harder than it needs to be

DO you think people CHOOSE not to be allowed five minutes on their own? REALLY? Oh of course. I've so much to gain from never getting time on my own. It makes me feel so righteously angry.

PLEASE

If your children can't leave you alone for five minutes you might want to spend your time training them to do so instead of whining at people on here. I've got 3 under 7, I still manage to get a bath and make a phone call.

Agree with Northern Rock. It has taken quite a bit of time but DS knows not to interrupt me in the shower, while on the phone or loo. He still occasionally forgets but I just reiterate ignore him the do not disturb rule.

Worral: you have no idea how low most men's standards are, do you?

4 DC under 12.
Full night's sleep is a rarity.
DC kick the door (loudly) when I go to the toilet.
I lock the house and go hide in the garage to have phone calls in peace.
I manage baths alone... sometimes.

I'm not a working parent, btw; it would be so much easier if I were (and when I was) because I'd have regular child care scheduled in. Youngest just started regular preschool so some things will sometimes be easier.

My kids don't sleep much, btw, which I think makes a huge difference. I know we just had a big thread about this... but basically, I need more sleep than they do so it's not like I can get anything done "after they've gone to bed". HA! As if!

I don't know how to 'train' them Stoirin. I'll stop 'whining' about it though if it makes you feel better.

Do you have a husband or partner Stoirin?

See I don't have anyone IRL to whine to. I guess that's my fault as well...might as well be upfront, of course it is.

If you don't then please share your tips. If you do then please understand it's a bit different without someone else around to help.

Ragged, me too...by the time they have gone to sleep I am usually so shattered that I can barely keep my eyes open even if it is only 8.30. And the utility companies/mail ordr/offices are SHUT by then, which is surprisingly why it's not much fecking use trying to ring them up

Just ignore, Gloria. People who don't have your kids have no idea.

I love what oldraver wrote, "It has taken quite a bit of time but DS knows not to interrupt me" -- so what she's saying is that she has ONE kid and yet it took quite a while. Now try having FOUR+ kids, with rather variable amounts of impulse control and tendencies to try to kill each other and tell me it's just a matter of "training" .

DC1 and DC2 are pretty good about not interrupting, provided they aren't trying to kill each other at the time... So training half complete?

I don't whine, just telling OP (since she asked) that she IBU.

I manage them all After 7pm when the DCs are in bed, so they must be lying or we have lots of very disorganised people I work almost F/T between two jobs as well!

Mine don't go to bed until 9pm. They wake me up in the morning. How would you manage without the 7-9pm slot, Croc?

Thanks Ragged.

I'm really intrigued at how people manage to phone ANYONE important after 8 bloody pm? The council is shut. The houses of parliament might still be open.

The bank won't deal with anything interesting after 4.30, my folks don't like evening calls, friends are erm putting their children to bed and dealing with their OWN shit at that time.

Who are you calling after 8pm?!

ragged: "DC kick the door (loudly) when I go to the toilet."

That is shocking behaviour! Aren't there any consequences for it? Would you allow them to do that to anyone else?

Oh FGS leave Ragged alone. Have your children never kicked anything? Not when they were, like, quite small?

Have they never had a habit of exercising their newly found gift of THE SHOUT when someone calls YOU - see we don't always get to choose when important phone calls happen.

It's so farking judgmental on here. And so many NICE and normal posters seemingly turning into mrs Perfect and telling all the rest of us how crap we must be.

What;s going on?

I don't know how old your dcs are ragged? Depends on their ages really!

I agree with the sleeping thing, if you have one that won't sleep no matter what you do (DS3 that's YOU!) it's a nightmare. Then they become teenagers and you can't sleep for different reasons, waiting for the key in the lock. (except DH manages just fine?!) The rest is manageable if you plan it right after the age of about 3 or 4, so probably just exaggeration rather than outright lying IMO.

Can't remember last time we all went somewhere together. It's sibling rivalry that leads to the violence, so being all together is key ingredient. But kids always behave hugely better in other people's homes, anyway.

I yell at them and they stop unless they want to spend the next hour on the stairs, Wellwisher. But it still happens sporadically (sigh). That's when they don't insist on trying to have a conversation when I'm on the loo (I refuse, but they keep talking....) By the time I get to escape the loo a new crisis has happened or something else needs attending to, like gasp the phone rings and if I want to have a conversation without screaming child in background I can't really enforce keeping them on stairs, etc. And then it's like 10 minutes later before I can get around to punishing them hard for three kicks at the door 15 minutes ago, so the moment is kinda gone...

Was it written by that stupid Shona Sibary or whatever she calls herself ?

She's full of bull AND on my bookface last christmas when ahe did an article about a poverty stricken christmas because they had no money she was on tnere going on about new year in New York and has had about 6 holidays since !

OK so one child in pre-school and presume the rest are school age. So in answer to the question I would find something that the little one enjoys and get it out, set up i.e. dvd, colouring, puzzle and then once she is happily doing it make the call. I also am very firm in saying no interupting on the phone and will use time out if they consistently interrupt for no reason.
If you use this appraoch when they are small then they tend not to do this as they get older. Also I pre warn them that I need to use the phone, is there anything they need before I make it, what I expect of them i.e. No interruptions. If possible use the time with least children in the house.
Older children should not need to interrupt.

CaptCroc: 4 DC aged 3-11. DC3 who is 7yo is the most demanding child (and sleeps the least, and fights the most, and is the only chronic bathroom door kicker, too). That's what I mean about personalities. If only had 2 or 3 of any of the other 3 DC I'd have a completely different experience of parenthood, tbh. 'Twould be lovely to be so smug...

That's why I said comes down to personalities, too.

Will bow out, go find something I can be smug about (not being on time for school run, though).

I haven't tried to make a work phonecall when DS has been in the house since the time he wandered through and bellowed 'I did a very big POO' so loudly that the client on the other end of the phone heard. It is just not worth the risk. I did one yesterday when DH was in (thinking that would be safe) and DH set the smoke alarm off in the middle of it (I ignored with sanguine grace). Everything else - of course I've had a bath and a sleep FGS! And I probably could do more calls now, but like I said, I don't want to take the risk of poo-gate again.

AND I am really hacked off with all this 'Don't know how she does it' nonsense. Loved the book but am already hacked off with the film and the way the media are using it to trivialise wummins ishoos.