I am juggling a newish full time job and the summer holidays with a 6 year old. It's the first time I've worked ft with school aged children and as most of us agree its...tricky.
My childcare plans went to shit this week. DS6 has had to come to the office with me for a day. Not ideal. Luckily I work in a setting that makes it much easier than it would be in many work places. We have play equipment and craft materials in the building. Our organisation supports women. Nonetheless, between drawing and colouring, playing with cars and spinning around on an office chair (all in my own office, on a separate floor), he's spent a bit more time on Minecraft than he usually would. C'est la vie and needs must.
One of my colleagues, on seeing this, decided it was a great time to lecture me about the ills of screentime for kids. Apparently her grandchildren, 5, 8 and 11, don't ever have screen time and don't own any devices. Her daughter is very strict about it because she feels a responsibility to raise HEALTHY children. Healthy minds are justbas important as healthy bodies, apparently. Because of this, they're very fit and healthy and just LOVE nature and being outside and get LOTS of exercise. So much so, they all went to Costa Rica for a month at Christams JUST to walk and study the birds.
Well whoop de fucking do for them. I'm ecstatic for them. Obviously, my child does 0 exercise and has evolved extra large thumbs as he is permenantly glued to his device. He uses it as a pillow. I'm thinking of having it surgically attached to his hands so he never loses it. He has only ever eaten chicken nuggets. So strong is my commitment to this that I used to blend them up and put them in a bottle when he was a baby. I consider myself to have no responsibility for the health of my child, and am proud that he is going to get his monies worth in NHS treatment for diabetes and heart disease as an adult. 🤔🧐
I wish I'd said this. In reality I just said "Ooh, Costa Rica! Lucky kids. How do they do their homework?"
She wouldn't know that my son plays football, swims and does gymnastics, is super fit and sporty, vegetarian, and has eaten a pretty healthy diet of whole foods cooked from scratch since he was 1. He'll happily chow down on a pile of chick pea and lentil curry with brown rice. He also has the odd treat. I'm aiming for him to grow up without an eating disorder or body issues. He enjoys his physical activities, and also loves to play the many musical instruments we have in the house, and draws a pretty mean picture. He walks miles in the couñtryside most weekends and can identify birds and native wildflowers.
She'd have no idea of this, because she doesn't know us at all. Instead she took one look at me and decided, for some reason, that I needed educating. I cant think why she might have made this assessment... I'm a bit of a chunk, mostly due to an autoimmune disease that went undiagnosed for an few years, and a good pinch of being knackered. I walk, swim outdoors and paddle board. Before i had a baby and ended up with said ilness i was a svelt size 8. I'm much fitter now than I was then. Clearly as I'm not skinny and my kid has to occasionally have a device thrust at him in an emergency so I can do my job, I'm a terrible parent.
I'm going back in the office Monday. If this crops up again, WIBU to ask her why SHE'S not in chuffing Costa Rica?