Friday, December 12, 2008

Anal Mom

I was talking to a friend today (wow, I start a number of posts like this) and I realized that I am an ANAL mom. We were at the Disney Store and she was buying her daughter THE CUTEST sleepover kit - it included a see through suitcase, pillow blanket and flash light. In fact, I just tried searching for it on the Disney Store website and couldn't find it.

Our monkeys are in 1st grade together, and she commented on how her daughter is starting to attend sleepovers and how ours should have one. As much as I trust her, she is fairly anal herself when it comes to the kids, and I KNOW the kids would have a great time together, I just had to say NO.

I am an anal mom. My kids have only ever spent the night with grandparents. I've let them have drop off play dates, but ONLY with really close friends of the family. I won't let them go on the metro or bus with my baby sitter (who doesn't really speak English - even though she's taken them on the metro anyways). I felt bad telling her no, but I hope she knows me well enough to not take offense. I would drop her off at this friends house, but spending the night is different.

Further proof of my anality (is that a word), was earlier this week. I was driving down a major residential street (with two lanes on each side) and noticed a woman walking down the street, with two little kids running down the street about 20 feet in front of her going wild. She was just moseying along without a care in the world. My first thought - one of those kids is going to run in to the street and get hit by a car! Or get kid-napped! Or run in to the street, narrowly avoid getting hit by a car and then get kid-napped! If that was me, I would be screaming my head off demanding that the monkey's STOP RUNNING and come walk NEXT TO ME!!

I guess this is why I'm afraid to take the kids to Disneyland. Unless....think they'd be OK with wearing human leashes??????

Yes, I have reached a new low, why do you ask?

9 comments:

kel said...

I'm an anal mom too. I have let my daughter have a sleepover at my best friends (her daughter is my daughter's bff) but I have known her since kindergarten. I am still nervous all night though! Why not start the sleepover thing at your house! That's what I do! I make sure our house is the fun house, so they want to sleep here!

Kim said...

My oldest son (11 yrs.) doesn't really like to sleep at others's homes. Occasionally, he will go, but usually he just invites the kid(s) to our house. My middle son (8 yrs.) would sleep anywhere! If I am comfortable with the parents/family, I don't mind letting them go. And he enjoys getting away from his siblings for a while. My middle son (5 yrs.) is still a little young for sleepovers with friends. They all love to stay at the grandparents - and my husband and I LOVE that, too.

Unknown said...

ahhhhhhhhh the joys of being a mom with young children. Eventuall.. you'll get over it, let go, let your kids be kids and regain your sanity. I think all moms have hover mother qualities until they snap out of it one day and realize that they are doing their kids no favors. My oldest is 18 and she scared to death of the world because we kept them "protected" That's ok though.. that just means she'll live here until we die WHAT? SOMEONE needs to take care of us! :) Enjoy your kids.. they grow up way too damn fast :(

April said...

I've seen many a kid at D-land with the leashes so you would NOT be the only one.
That being said, the girls and I don't use them. They're to go directly to a Disney staff member and tell them they're lost. The staff member will take them to City Hall (at the entrance by the fire station) and I will pick them up there.
FWIW, I've been taking my girls to D-land since my youngest was 3 (5 years now) and we've never had to use this!

I am Harriet said...

I hate sleepovers. So glad to be done with them .

Unknown said...

I'm totally an anal Mom too, but my husband's even worse, he is too nervous to have a babysitter that is not family! So I would say we have more of an anal Dad situation in our house.

Julie from JulieChats said...

I'm pretty anal myself. But I have had to let go a bit, remembering that I had a sleep over bday party for my 7th bday. My daughter attended her first one the summer between 1st & 2nd grades. It was at her BFF's and I'm really close with the mom. They had a great time. I feel a little strange not knowing what she is doing every second. I was a MESS when she started kindergarten. But since my friend is just like I am about her daugther I knew it would be ok. My daughter does have some friends in her group whose parents won't let them stay over until a certain age. They were included too. The mom's just came to pick them up around 10pm in their pjs. One girl really wanted to stay over but ended up calling her mom at 11pm to come get her. We just make sure all the girls feel comfortable going home early and that the other girls don't tease them. I don't think any of the kids feel like the girls going home are strange or different from them. You might try something like that, letting your daughter stay late and getting in her pjs with her friend and then picking her up. Some kids feel really comfortable staying at their friends' homes and others don't. You might ask your daugther's opinion, if you really want to hear it. Sometimes I don't ask because I know what she'll say! Of course I would only let her stay over night with kids whose parents I know, in a home where I know she would be safe.

-Julie
http://juliechats.blogspot.com/

Opus #6 said...

I don't think this was much of an issue with us. I'm protective. No male babysitters. But somehow my older kids made it through. It is so hard to know as a parent where to draw the line

bernthis said...

It's weird. I'm getting worse as she gets older. I was so the opposite of you for the first 3 or so years but now....I don't know. It's not like the world was a better place two years ago.