My family took a trip to the East Coast to meet the newest member of our family. A few weeks prior, my son and his wife had their first child, our sweet grandson, Knox.
We wanted our 8- and 4-year-old to meet their nephew before the craziness of the summer. It was a quick trip, just a few days of snuggles and loving on the baby and the parents.
One evening, we had pizza and were enjoying time together when my boys turned on Bluey.
We had been telling my son and his wife about some funny episodes and since they are so short and sweet and funny, they indulged us and let us show them how funny the blue heelers are.
I explained to my oldest son that this show is really very creative and he will learn from watching it. We shared a few of our favorite episodes and we all laughed. We even acted like the grannies looking for beans and rolled in laughter.
My husband and I find ourselves watching episodes and realizing our kids are no longer in the room. The show is THAT good.
We started one last episode, my daughter-in-law was feeding Knox and we were all in the same room together. I told them this was one of my all-time favorite episodes, called “The Baby Race.”
The episode started and I told them I was convinced this episode was not for kids, but for the moms watching it. It was so funny with bum shuffling and we all laughed.
My favorite part was coming up, and I was watching to see who got it. This particular episode focused on how children walk and crawl and talk and advance at different ages and stages, and it is not a time that parents should compare because every child is different.
But we DO compare.
We do carry the weight of when and how fast our children do things and we do compare them with other moms and children, and we need to STOP because every child will do it in their own time.
The episode ends with CoCo’s mother, Bella, encouraging Chilli, Bluey’s mother. She shares with her that she has other children and that children progress at their own pace and it is not a race. She then tells Chilli that there is something she needs to know… Bella tells Chilli, “You’re Doing Great!” Brought to tears, Chilli decides she is going to run her own race from now on.
As the credits started to roll, my 8-year-old exclaims across the room to my sweet daughter-in-law feeding her sweet son, “Hey Hannah, you are doing a great job!”
And that, mamas, is life unscripted, thanks to Bluey. YOU are doing a great job. Don’t compare and let your kids run their own race.
