Boundaries for Moms

This doesn’t work for my kids. If this was dad’s sign, it would work. My older boys know better, but my two little girls? Ay. They still manage to peer in from behind the door to ask me questions.

Sometimes as a mom it feels like there are no boundaries for personal space. I must have an invisible sign the reads, “Mom is available anytime, all the time.”

This includes following me into the toilet (for my girls) to conference with me, and when I am trying to nap, waking me up with non-urgent questions like, “Mom? Mom? Can I play with this toy?”

“Can’t you see that I am trying to nap?”

“Oh, sorry, mom.”

Twenty minutes later, when I am in wonderfully pleasant sleep…

“Mom? (With a tap to my arm or trying to peel an eye open) Is it okay if we watch some tv?”

I end up saying yes in my disoriented state, looking up to a child hovering over my body that resembles my worst nightmare at that very moment.

“Please stop waking me up to ask me questions, kids. I am sleeping!”

So my youngest skips out the door and announces to all, “Guys, don’t talk to mom while she is sleeping!”

I wish this could be a more obvious thing for my kids. Nobody should ever have conversations with anyone who is asleep. Please. It doesn’t even make any sense to write out that sentence.

Anyway, I find that as a mom, I need to elicit the help of Edric to get the kids to respect me. Normally, they obey and listen, and honor me. However, there are times when their tone requires tweaking, or they don’t come down right away when I am calling for them to sit at the table.

If my kids were all in the six year old and below category this sort of delayed response would merit a spanking on the behind. But with my older kids, they understand obedience and respect and there are occasions when they are simply distracted and don’t jump up attentively at the sound of my voice. So I have withdrawn privileges to discipline them. However, Edric’s laying down the laws of our home helps a lot, too.

So he backs me up, which is really nice, and has mini seminars with all the kids about how they are to respect me — namely in the area of tone of voice and responsiveness, and well, he can now add not disturbing mom when she needs her private time and space in her room. I am going to mention that one later!

3 thoughts on “Boundaries for Moms

  1. So funny. I can totally relate. Like when the door is locked and still they would knock hard and ask you to open it right away. Geez. Get well soon Joy! Someday, they will stop bothering us that much that we will also miss it.

  2. Yup. I can’t even take a shower without one of my kids coming in the bathroom and asking me for something. Like I don’t have personal space when it comes to them. I do instill discipline and they absolutely cannot come in the room when I do my quiet time, I lock the door, of course, it doesn’t stop them from banging on the door, but I don’t open and just shout “Laaaaterrrr!!!”. I also have an issue with my 10 year old’s tone when I call his attentiion about something, he says sorry afterwards when reminded that it’s dishonoring to me as his mother. Is this normal for older kids? Are the children too comfortable with us that they sometimes forget to respect us?

  3. i feel you! I have two sons under 3. I feel like my head is going to explode when they compete for mommy’s attention. I have to elicit hubby’s help for a quick ME time nightly, just to be able to wash my face. hahaha

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